The Perfect Princess
by anchora
Summary: "Sasuke, you have seven days to find a bride, or you lose the crown." Well, this was gonna be a royal pain in the ass. SASUSAKU. AU.
1. Royally Fucked

**The Perfect Princess**

**summary— "Sasuke, you have seven days to find a bride, or you lose the crown." Well, this was gonna be a royal pain in the ass. SASUSAKU. AU.**

**disclaimer— No es mine.**

**notes—Hey there, this is my first ever fanfic :) I really hope you guys like it!**

**second **version; edited.

* * *

**The Perfect Princess**

_**Chapter 1**_

* * *

"Sasuke, please! Don't**—**don't do this! I'm sorry!" cried a frantic Sakura, racing down the aisle. A snag in the runner caught her small foot, and she slid forward, only to be caught by two large guards, grabbing hold of her arms. Long pink hair cascaded in front of her face, red from panting, and hot tears rolled off her cheeks onto the ground.

Sakura knew she was defeated, as she made no attempt to escape the iron grip of the guards. She sat there crying, then let a sad smile pull at her lips and raised expectant eyes at the prince before her.

* * *

—_one week ago_**—**

yawn.

A lean figure rose from his plush bed, his dark eyes shut tight and arms stretched out. He cracked his back and brought a large hand to his eye; they were always sensitive in the morning. He threw the heavy blue covers back, 'making' his bed haphazardly. Sasuke strode over to his closet, sliding open the door to reveal an array of clothes, many of which not exceeding the hues of blue, black or... blue, black.

Yet there was the occasional exception, such as when Sasuke pulled out a high collared short sleeved shirt. A drawer rolled open and out came a pair of lavender pants accompanied by black leggings.

"Master Sasuke**—**oh!" a maid, Tenten had come up to Sasuke's room, right as Sasuke had begun to change. She hastily covered her eyes and squeaked, "Y-your father s-sent for you?"

The prince had gone red in the face and did his best to keep cool. He pulled on his pants before answering Tenten. "Right. Well, tell him I'll be right down."

The brunette girl nodded, then darted off, down the large white marble stairs. As soon as Tenten was out of sight, Sasuke slid his long arms through the shirt sleeves, zipping it to mid-chest. Grabbing a comb from his nightstand he pulled it through his long bangs. He didn't bother fixing the rest; his hair always spiked in the back, rain or shine.

Though he'd never admit it, the youngest Uchiha prince was indeed vain. So naturally he couldn't help but admire himself just a little bit longer. Black, black hair spiked liked a bird's erm... other end, long bangs that shaded his equally dark eyes. A lightly tanned complexion coated his tall, slightly muscular frame. To many, he was handsome, but girls knew the word they looked for was hot. He knew, they knew it, even his dad knew it.

But that's not important. Not right now, anyways.

* * *

Sasuke had just stepped out of his room before being stopped by Itachi, his brother. Itachi was a few years older than Sasuke, around 23, and he too was rather tall, with the same black hair, pulled into a ponytail. He had he same eyes as Sasuke, with thick lashes, and the lines running below them were one of the few things that differenciate their appearances.

"Good lord Sasuke, zip up your shirt. You look like a slut." commented Itachi, smirking slightly.

People tend to get out of character when they're angry, for instance when Sasuke stuck his tongue out at Itachi. "Shut up."

The older boy smiled. "Relax otoutou. That was my impression of Father. It's gotten better, huh?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes, mumbling a "sure" and pushing past his brother. He descended down the stairs, past the commons and into a large dining room. Its ceilings were sky high, with 3 large chandeliers twinkling above the long, narrow cherry table. The walls were a burnt orange, set off by the warm red hue of the table.

At the end, sat King Fugaku and his wife. The former was dressed in a silk blue yukata trimmed in gold, black pants, and those old old old sandals, the ones with almost smooth soles. Should anyone ever ask him about them, he'd only say they were well worn and old, just like Mikoto. The queen would then swat him on the arm, feigning outrage at his remark.

Yet Queen Mikoto was the kind of person you wish was an actress, just so you could stare without feeling like a stalker. Her hair was shiny black, her dark eyes glittery, and her lean figure was clothed by a red kimono, it too made of fine silk and tired with a brilliant white obi. A silver pin, delicately engraved, held her hair back in a half pony style.

Her features were soft, rounded, features that were taken by her sons.

Her husband, however, seemed as though his chiseled features were stretched over his square face. His nose was thin, aristocratic, like Sasuke's; one of the few things they had in common. Albeit his stern face and large frame, Fugaku was very amicable, as kings should be. His pride in the Uchiha was displayed by the red and white fan emblazoned on his clothing, and his loyalty to Konoha lied in a leaf pendant that hung low on a chain near and dear to his heart.

"Sasuke-chan, sit down please," chided Mikoto, grasping her husband's hand.

Sasuke took his seat.

"Son," said Fugaku gruffly, shifting uncomfortably in his seat. "There's something you need to know."

"What?"

"Well," cut in Mikoto, "You are eighteen now, and you can be married, not to mention king, dear. Since your brother has refused the title, you are naturally the next in line. However, it is Konoha's ancient law that one cannot rule alone, as a symbol of our attitude towards working with others. As such, you need to be married before becoming king, and right now, you are betrothed to Lady Ino."

"W-what!" sputtered Sasuke. He was absolutely flabbergasted. There was no way in hell he would let someone arrange a marriage for him, not even his parents. Now, the snarky prince usually had a snide comment for everything, but this**—**this just had him speechless.

"Sasuke-chan?"

Sasuke shook his head. "You can't be serious! Believe it or not, I would rather marry someone on my own accord, not because you tell me to!"

Mikoto felt so bad for her son. Surely he was too young to make such a difficult decision, right? she leaned toward her husband and whispered, "Fugaku. Please, he's your son. There has to be some kind of solution to this."

The two quickly had a hushed conversation, in which someone got quite the smack on his head. Ahem.

"Sasuke, I have a proposition for you. I will give you seven days to find a girl, marry her, and if you refuse, the crown is Madara's." he said.

"That's not a proposition, that's a fucking ULTIMATUM!" yelled Sasuke.

Fugaku rose sharply from his chair. "WELL IT'S ALL YOU'VE GOT!" he shouted.

Getting increasingly angry, Sasuke stormed out of the room, shouting behind him. "Fine then, okay? Have it your way. I don't even give a shit."

Sasuke darted out the back doors of the castle, into a wide open lawn filled with lush green grass and a large fountain gurgling merrily in the center. Off to the side of the garden, which was usually used for formal event, stood a large hedge, covered by purple flowers and the contents beyond it undiscovered.

Unless you were Sasuke.

His legs made long strides across the vast yard. He was still quite angry, and was muttering to himself about stupid fathers and the kind of fuckery being royalty got him into. It didn't last long though; in a matter of seconds he was at the bushes. He breathed in their scent, fresh, with an odd lemon tone. Sasuke pushed them aside, and stepped through.

The scene before him was gorgeous: soft grass so green it looked lime green, large citrus trees shading the tiny pond, inhabited by a lonely white koi, named Kisame. Sasuke had named it after one of Itachi's friends, who lived in Mist kingdom. He was large and blue, from his hair to is toes, and pretty friendly. Sasuke liked him more than any of Itachi's other friends, all of whom were part of the Akatsuki, a group of people around Itachi's age of elite class, such as being royalty, politicians, or highly regarded nobles.

Sasuke was the only one who knew about the garden. Sort of. He had discovered it at age five, when one of his cousins pushed him past the hedge, where he stumbled across the garden. Then, the trees had only been around 2 feet tall, and that little pond hadn't existed. Of course, he was a little boy, and boys tend to get excited, so he ended up telling Itachi and Shisui, his then best friends.

There was an enormous lemon tree that was Sasuke's favorite. He went over there, and sat down, back against the trunk, legs crossed. He tried to remember the breathing excercises Kakashi had taught him. Minutes passed, but Sasuke was still fuming. He was about to leave when Shisui cropped up.

Shisui was one of Sasuke's many cousins, a part of the outer branches of the Uchihas. He bore curly black hair, and the trademark onyx eyes, with lines running up the sides. He wore the usual Uchiha attire: black high collared shirt with the Uchiha crest, and blue pants.

"Hey Sasuke. What's eating ya?" he asked.

Sasuke looked over at him incredulously, glaring out of the corner of his eye. "Shisui, I've been royally fucked."

The addressed cocked an eyebrow. "Okay, how so?"

Sasuke's previous expression of indignance became pained. He looked up at the sky, hating it's clear cloudless blue. It was stupid almost, being envious of a sky that was happy when he wasn't.

"What's the quickest you've ever fallen in love?"

That question was so blunt, Shisui was taken aback. The surprise happened to pass quickly, and soon he turned to his cousin, smiling. "Half an hour." he said proudly, "Seriously. She's amazing, little cousin. Smart, pretty, nice. You know what Sasuke? I think I'm gonna marry her."

The way his eyes sparkled, the way his voice seemed to go up a few notes, Sasuke knew there was one girl he would be talking about.

"Suzume?" he asked.

Shisui's longtime girlfriend, Suzume, was a pretty little thing, literally. Petite, around five-three, and with caramel colored skin. Her hair was dark brown, adorned with a violet sparrow feather and always styled in beachy waves. Sasuke had only seen her once her twice, but each time she was smiling, adorable little dimples in place.

Shisui nodded and stretched out his legs.

"But how could anyone fall in love so... fast?" Sasuke wondered aloud.

A knowing look on his face, Shisui patted the prince's shoulder. "Trust me bro, you just know. Why suddenly so curious, Sasuke?"

Said teen looked so shameful, he as almost pouting. "I...I have to marry someone..." he mumbled.

Sorry?"

"I have to marry someone in seven days!" shouted Sasuke.

Shisui then proceeded to laugh. Loudly. He just kept on going and going and going until the younger Uchiha yelled at him. Even then, the curly haired man still couldn't help but snicker.

"It's not funny. What am I gonna do, Shisui?"

"Keh heh heh heh."

"I said it's not funny!"

"Oh yes it is. I mean, come on, you? The infamous ice queen? That's a riot."

Sasuke was getting mad again. "Shut up, Shisui," he said as he punched him in the shoulder," Now how the hell do I fix this?"

He thought for a second. Suddenly, an idea came to him. What if they set up something where girls would come to him, like an audition? If everything went well, they'd_ have_ to find the perfect one.

"I know what to do. All we need is Itachi, paper, and a whole lotta girls."

* * *

**notes—Okayy, well that's it for chapter one! If you're reading this for the first time, well then you're in luck, because this is the edited version, with all the little stupid errors that shouldn't have been there in the first place all gone! :3 **

**Thanks for reading, please review!**


	2. Day 1

**The Perfect Princess**

**summary— "Sasuke, you have seven days to find a bride, or you lose the crown." Well, this was gonna be a royal pain in the ass. SASUSAKU. AU.**

**disclaimer—standard.**

**notes— Hello newly edited chapter two! Seriously though, the fact that I'm touching all this shit up makes me love this story so much more :3**

**second **version; edited.

* * *

**The Perfect Princess**

_**Chapter 2**_

* * *

_Day One**—**_

* * *

_Prince Sasuke Uchiha is in search of a wife!_

_On the fifteenth of August, at high noon_

_All young ladies eighteen and under_

_May to come to the Palace_

_For Evaluation_

* * *

"Ow Shisui that was my shirt!"

"Well, maybe if you stop wearing such high collar shirts, Sasuke-_kun_!"

"Shisui-kun, otoutou, I don't believe now is the time to argue—"

"Shut up Itachi, no one asked you!"

Perhaps the infamous Uchiha trio didn't work as well together as they used to…

It had been Shisui's job to collect paper, then Itachi's to think up an appropriate message to write on them. Now, the three of them were traipsing about, posting the signs. Only, it was taking longer than originally thought, since Shisui accidentally nailed Sasuke to a wall. Again.

"Oh, CRAP!"

"Sorry!"

… And again.

* * *

—_Noon_**—**

After a couple hours of distributing the signs, Sasuke had reluctantly agreed to occupy a chair alongside his cousin and brother in the ballroom. The three of them sat in a line, some smiling more than others.

No sooner had the large clock hand struck twelve, a crowd of girls streamed in, squealing. Sasuke's mouth pressed into an even thinner line at the sight of some of the village girls. _'They look like_ _concubines_,' he thought grimly as he eyed the girls, picking at their apparances, seeing whose dress was too low cut, whose**—**

"Come ON! You look fine, no need to hide. Just come out already." pleaded a voice, belonging to a girl with long red hair styled in a neat bun, accompanied by a large flower, and her bangs pushed off to the side. She would've been pretty, had it not been for all that make-up she wore; broad, deep blue lines of eyeliner, white face makeup, and red pigments on her upper lip. Her makeup resembled that of a geisha's. She was clothed in a royal blue kimono, cut just low enough to reveal part of her generous cleavage, yet still respectable.

She was dragging another redheaded girl behind her who didn't look like she wanted to be there at _all_. Her hair was left long and loose, and a silver, leaf engraved headband pushed her bangs off her face. A white circle graced the back of her mint green kimono. The collar was slightly more Mandarin in style, and a small slit in either side of the skirt made walking easier. Her face was more natural than that of her friends', with sparkling green shadow, and her bow lips painted shell pink.

Yet what captured Sauke's attention in the first place was the girls eyes. They were large and apple green, surrounded by. . . blonde lashes?

Suddenly, Itachi's face came into view, his eyes wide and peering just a little too close to Sasuke's face. The young prince jumped about a mile into he air, and his crown, (placed upon his head by Shisui, "For impressing the ladies," he said. Yeah right.) falling into his eyes.

"Itachi. You suck."

Itachi grinned, fixing Sasuke's crown. "I don't know what you could possibly mean, Sasuke-kun," he then turned towards the villager and announced, "Hello ladies, good to know you came! As of now, I would like each of you to come up one by one when you're called, and Sasuke will then ask you a few questions."

The first girl, silver haired, came up and introduced herself.

"My name is Aimi Nakashima."

* * *

"Name?"

"Aimi Nakashima." "Karin Kobayashi." "Momoko Sato."

"Uh, age?"

"Seventeen." "Sixteen." "Eight..een?"

"Strengths?"

"Pretty, kid-friendly, smart." "Pretty, duh!" "Noble families…?"

"…Okay. What can you do for me?"

"Everything. You will not have to do a thing." "Its frowned upon to say out loud." "Umm…"

Some two hours and a billion girls later, Sasuke was annoyed, tired and just plain pissed. A princess was supposed to be smart, kind, pretty, and just everything these girls were _not_.

"Can**—c**an everyone just leave, please? I-I'll just announce the princess later, okay? Seriously, just _leave_."

The mood of the girls fell instantly, and they somberly treaded out the large wooden doors. They swung shut, creating a silence that hung thickly in the air. Sasuke rubbed hid throbbing temple. It made him so exasperated, how he couldn't find one girl that was at least tolerable, or possessed the qualities he looked for.

Wait.

There was that girl, the one with the green eyes.

"Sasuke, are you all right?" inquired the older raven. His brows were furrowed at Sasuke's expression. He raked a hand through his curly black hair, and approached the young royal.

"This is utter crap. Honestly, I feel like just handing the kingdom over to Madara."

Shisui eyed Sasuke curiously. Normally, he was pissy, just not _this_ pissy. He'd never seen his cousin so angry, over something almost trivial, like not succeeding in putting on a shirt for the first time, or falling the first time you climb a tree. But, then again, Sasuke's future rode on the shoulders of this following week, so, it only made sense to see him so frustrated.

"You know, I don't think you should do that."

"Maybe I want to."

"But you know you won't."

There. That's where Sasuke had been caught. He'd never let such words escape his mouth, but, yes, Sasuke knew he could never just hand the entire kingdom over to some power hungry old man; he just loved it too much. Only a real leader, like him, should be allowed to sit on that throne.

The prince cracked his knuckles, a nervous habit he'd developed as a child. "I... I guess you're right." he mumbled.

Shisui cocked an ear. "What was that, Sasu-cakes?"

Glare.

Shisui chuckled, before approaching Sasuke and grabbing his elbow. "Come on, I think you need to relax. I'll find Itachi."

* * *

"... Whatthefuck."

"Language, otoutou."

"Screw you, Itachi."

"Guess someone's friend has come back for their monthly visit."

The Three Musketeers (more like two) had planned for a day of relaxation. It would begin at Ripple Springs, their current location, proceed to a luxury teahouse famous for it's extremely talented and beautiful geisha. That night, they would then go to a tavern, where Sasuke would finally get to taste some real alcohol.

So here they were, standing in front a white building with beautiful gray statues of the river spirits Mizuyuki* and Mizuhashi*, a brother and sister whose story was a favorite of Sasuke's at bedtime. The two had been swept into a river, and when they died, their souls were reborn into bodies of magnificent dragons, forever guarding the river. Beyond them, just in front of the bamboo door, were beautiful plants of bright green leaves, violet blossoms and lurid pink hibiscus, their fragrance filling the boys' senses.

Beautiful as the springs were, Sasuke was still highly indignant of being there. An incident had ocurred when he was younger, when he wandered into the women's side of the springs by accident, causing complete chaos. But now isn't time to talk about such things.

The trio walked throughthe doors, Itachi and Shisui's rms linked through Sasuke's, resulting in a face of absolute distaste.

"Hello, welcome to Lemongrass Springs. How may we help you today?" asked an older geisha, around twenty-five, with a red kimono that matched her rosebud lips.

"Lemongrass?" asked Sasuke, an eyebrow raised, "I thought this was Ripple Springs?"

The woman smiled cheerily. "It was recently bought. It is now also a bathhouse, with our lovely bathhouse geisha to entertain you."

When the woman first mentioned the geisha, Sasuke's first thought was prostitute. He tried not to, but it was something that just about everyone said, that these women were the equivalent to prostitutes who tied their short kimonos in front, and hid among alleys at night.

Itachi nodded and understanding, and asked to be led towards the springs. The geisha, who informed them that her name was Etsuko, became starry eyed at the handsome man, and led them to the back. She handed them some warm towels, then left them to their things.

All of them stripped off their (rather nice) clothes, wrapped the towels around their waists, then walked outside.

Not minutes after Sasuke had submerged half his body into the steamy, eucalyptus scented water, a voice called to him.

"Sasuke?" it said, "Oi, teme!"

The raven whipped around, towards the source of the voice. In the next spring, a tall blonde boy with a tan face and thin scars on his cheeks waved to him smiling. "Remember me, teme?" Low on his chest hung a crystal pendant, given to him by his so-called 'obaachan'. Around his wrist dangled a shell bracelet, the mark of Whirlpool engraved on one of them.

"Naruto." said Sasuke automatically. He was slightly younger than Sasuke, just by a few months, and had been his best friend as a child. When they about fifteen or so, Naruto had moved away to the Land of Eddies, after his father had married their princess. Since then, Sasuke had scarcely seen the blonde, only glimpsing him from time to time at political meetings.

"You know, I'd hug you, but, I know you don't like that, and, I'm kind of naked under this towel."

Sasuke laughed. Naruto was always sooo classy, and extremely humorous.

"Naruto," replied Sasuke, "Why don't you come over here?"

Nearby, a woman was serving tea at the bar Sasuke had indicated, and when the Uchiha stepped out of the spring to go there, he suddenly crashed into a girl with brilliant green eyes.

* * *

**notes—So, the * means that the legend Sasuke thought of is just made up by me, btw :P**

**Thank you guys soo much for your reviews, they mean so much! I never thought anyone would actually like this, sooo, you know, THANKS.**


	3. That's Embarassing

**The Perfect Princess**

**summary—"Sasuke, you have seven days to find a bride, or you lose the crown." Well, this was gonna be a royal pain in the ass. SASUSAKU. AU.**

**disclaimer—Nope.**

**notes—Wow, you guys are great! Your reviews make me feel so good, thank you so much for them! (:**

**Some of you had some questions, so I thought I'd answer them:**

_**Tiger Priestess: **_**Well, when Sasuke told Naruto to "come here", he meant "come here to this tea bar thing". My apologies for not pointing that out. :P**

**Aaaaaanyways, enjoy my lovelies****!**

**second **version; edited.

* * *

**The Perfect Princess**

_**Chapter 3**_

* * *

The only words Sakura could use to describe her current position would have to be_ horizontal_ and _embarrassing. _

Prior to this, Sakura had been dragged by her sister Karin to some stupid event at the royal palace, held by the prince—who she didn't even get to _see_—and then it was off to work at the springs. Since age seven, Sakura's step-father had decided his beautiful step-daughter was destined for the occupation of Geisha. Sakura didn't mind, but she never felt any passion in this 'art'; what she really strived for was work in medicine.

On a usual basis, the teenager wore kimonos in shades of green and red, to compliment her petal pink hair and bright green eyes. However, she had one very special kimono—shimmery white, with pink cherry blossoms along the hem and a lacy berry pink obi—at the back of her armoire, for 'someday', as her mother told her when she made it. Her hair would be piled on top of her head and adorned with ornaments, or intricately braided down her back.

But any beautiful hairstyle would have gone to waste as of now. Her long tresses tumbled over her shoulders and chest, yet unfortunately not covering her face. It was a glaring red, due to the very wet, very naked, and very gorgeous man on top of her. Because she didn't have anything else to resort to, Sakura decided to get out of this by dong what she did best: talking.

"Um, I'm pretty sure we s-skipped a few steps. M-maybe you should t-take me out to dinner f-first?" she squeaked, blushing even more deeply.

The man, dark haired and _gorgeous_ (did she mention that?) reddened to a deep umber before responding. "Maybe, I should get off you first."

"Shit, teme! I didn't think you'd changed _that_ much!" cried a loudmouth blonde not too far away. Near him, were two dark haired men, one of whom looked just like the person on top of Sakura, except for two lines on he sides of his nose. He had longer hair, tied into a low ponytail, and was trying to cover his snickers behind his hand, The other, though, didn't attempt to hide his full-on laughter at the two's current situation.

"I guess this is what happens when you bottle up hormones, amirite?" he offered to the other.

The taller of the two tsked in an unapproving manner. "Now, now, Shisui. Don't be naïve. This is clearly the work of the excessive cock-blocking our father has done to him."

They paused, then broke out in laughter once more, clutching their sides and tears squeezing out their eyes. The boy Sakura had fallen under scrambled to get up, slipping slightly before punching all three witnesses in the gut.

Sakura peeled herself of the slick stones of the ground, then mentally cursing her sopping wet kimono for having come undone. She grabbed the long yards of cloth, her face giving off enough heat to roast meat. She started to walk backward in the direction of the door, when she heard yelling.

"Sakura HARUNO!" A tall, blonde woman was walking in her direction, fury painted on her face.

"Oh, no…" mumbled the rosette.

"Maybe it's high time we left," said Itachi, "I don't believe this is something we want to see. Naruto, we're heading to dinner soon, why don't you join us?"

The blonde boy nodded. "Sure. I'm only in town for a few days, so why not spend it with Sasuke-teme?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes at him. "Hn. Dobe."

The three Uchihas and Uzumaki made their way into the changing rooms, put on their clothes, and left Lemongrass Springs, the sound of yelling behind them.

"YOU LITTLE HARLOT! I TOLD YOU WHAT GEISHAS DO AND DON'T DO—YET YOU STILL DISOBEY?"

Shisui winced. It wasn't the girl's fault, really. It was more Sasuke's than anything, seeing as how he was the one to knock her down after all. But although he didn't have any part in it, Shisui still felt guilty about the chewing-out this girl was getting.

"Hey, I-I think I left something in the bathhouse, I'll be right back." He told his cousins, already walking back in the direction of the springs.

They nodded, and agreed to wait for him on some large boulders.

* * *

"SAKURA HARUNO, I SHOULD—"

"Now, now ma'm," began Shisui as soon as he reached the two women. "It really isn't her fault. You see, my younger cousin was being rather clumsy, and fell on this poor girl, who was simply doing her job serving tea to some gentlemen right over there." He pointed to the bar nearby, where the shattered remains of a teapot lay alongside a few bamboo cups.

The woman's face softened a bit, and she glanced at Sakura, whose face make-up had rubbed off, leaving only small patches on her cheeks and nose. "Oh, well… I apologize, Sakura-san. Perhaps I was being a bit harsh. Run along now, we close soon, and I know you have another job."

The pinkette nodded, and gave the curly haired Uchiha a meaningful look. She had tied her obi already, sloppily, but enough to keep the soft green kimono closed. She tried to hurry away, but a strong hand gripped her shoulder.

"Have I seen you before?" asked Shisui, his eyes serious.

Sakura started to shake her head, but suddenly remembered seeing him somewhere…where was it? Oh! The event at the palace! He'd been sitting on a throne, on the left of the prince, whom she had yet to see.

"I think…were you there at the castle today?"

He nodded.

"Then yes. You've seen me before."

Immediately the man's face brightened, as if a light bulb had come one over his head. "Do you mind coming with me to The Mint Leaf, you know, that teahouse-restaurant thing later? It's for my cousin. He's been looking for a girl, and maybe you could be the one."

"Oh, um, well, you see, I-I work there." said Sakura, blushing. "I-I'm one of the geisha."

"That's perfect! You can serve our table, flirt, you know, the works."

* * *

At around eight o'clock, Sasuke and company arrived at The Mint Leaf, dressed in rather fine clothing and sparkling clean. Sasuke himself wore a long, sleeveless blue coat, a gift he'd gotten from his mother when he turned eighteen. A black sleeveless shirt went under it, but Sasuke's pants-and-leggings combination stayed the same. Itachi had a mesh shirt, short sleeved and accented by a necklace with circular charms. His pants were black, and blue sandals sat on his feet. Shisui's coat was white, with a red shirt, and dark blue pants tucked into worn black boots with soft leather that molded to his feet. Naruto, flashy as he is, wore a tight black turtle neck, with an orange coat like Sasuke's, with outlines of flames along the edge and a red swirl—the land of Eddies' symbol—emblazoned on the back.

The minute they walked in, women turned. Everyone had heard of the handsome Uchiha princes, but they were seldom seen, or at least, Sasuke was. People chatted quietly when they passed. Their words were ignored, and the four males sat down at a quiet table next to a window, where a geisha was waiting for them with menus.

"Hello gentlemen. My name is Sakura, and I will be helping you tonight. Here are your menus and I do hope you have a wonderful evening."

Sasuke froze. Holy shit, this was not good.

* * *

"And stay out!" cried the owner of the restaurant, throwing out each and every one of them by the collar.

Now, as soon as Sasuke heard Sakura's name, he'd nearly flew out on his own. Normally he was very aloof about everything, but this seemed to have freaked him out to a huge extent. But alas, he never got his chance to run away, because soon as he froze up, two big hands grabbed his shoulder tightly, anchoring him to the seat. Sasuke clamped his mouth shut, instead letting his brother order for him.

Their tea came, and Sakura poured it gingerly into the cups, her hands showing the expertise that came with years of practice. She bowed promptly, then left to retrieve their orders of sashimi with tomatoes, sushi, egg soup and ramen.

Twenty minutes in, Sasuke was out of tea. He cracked his knuckles, and asked Shisui to pass it to him. He did, but not a second after he set it down was it knocked over. Right into Sasuke's lap.

Poor schmuck nearly screamed, it was so painful. With clenched teeth, he excused himself to the restroom. In his haste, Sasuke'd forgotten to push in his chair, and tripped over one of the legs.

He started to fall, and grabbed the back f the nearest person's shirt. In this case, Naruto Uzumaki's and that of an older gentleman. Down they went, tumbling to the hardwood, Sasuke being the base of the dogpile. Gasps were emitted by bystanders, and a woman rushed to the side of the gentleman.

"Takahashi-sama! Are you all right?" she cried, helping the man to his feet.

He brushed himself off and replied, "Yes I am quite all right, but I am appalled by the behavior of this unruly young man! Would someone please get him out of my sight!"

* * *

And so here they were, lying on their asses in the middle of the road, being stared at by civilians.

"I hate my life." said Sasuke, crossing his arms and putting an icy glare on his face.

"Who the hell was that guy anyway?" asked Naruto.

Itachi turned to look at him. "You didn't see? He had a pin on the lapel of his shirt. He's an ambassador to Grass Kingdom."

"Well, shit."

* * *

**Notes—the ending was a little rushed, but I think this was pretty good over all. :P Also, I just wanted to tell you guys to read my other stories, Flawless, and rain dance, on my other account, blueberry-kun. Thanks a bunch for reading, and as always, review! Night guys!**


	4. Day 2

**The Perfect Princess**

**Summary—" Sasuke, you have seven days to find a girl and marry her, or you lose the crown." Well, this was gonna be a royal pain in the ass.**

**Disclaimer—YEA—no. **

**Notes—I'm sorry its really short, but I just had to update before leaving. I'm going to Chicago and won't have a computer, so no updates until after June 16th :P sorry…. Anyways, enjoy!**

**second **version; edited.

* * *

**The Perfect Princess**

_**Chapter 4**_

* * *

_Day Two_—

* * *

"This… isn't good." Said Shisui, feeling Sasuke's burning forehead. On their way home, it had begun to rain and left the boys soaked to the bone. Now, Sasuke had a fever, runny nose, and was acting strangely kind.

"Shisui-kun…would you get me some water?"

"Shisui-kun, I'm hungry.."

"Shisui-kun… where's Itachi-kun?"

Now the curly haired man was fed up—he needed medicine. Quick.

"Yes, I need something for a fev—wait a minute." Shisui paused. He was at the market, at an old herb shop. The woman running it was pretty: honey blonde hair, green eyes, and light skin. She looked extremely similar to someone the Uchiha had seen before, but who?

"Do you have a daughter?"

The woman looked surprised. "Why yes, Two, in fact. Do you know them?"

Shisui nodded, and told her how she resembled Sakura. She laughed, stating that she was her daughter, the half-sister of her other one, Karin. They began to talk, with the dark haired man was careful not to let on he was royalty—it was common practice. Never use your real name in a public setting, try and dress in shabby clothes, and keep spending on the cheap.

He gave her his alias, Ichiro Suzuki, and paid for his medicine with many coins of low value, instead of the gold ones in this coat pouch. The woman—Kiiroko—handed it to him in a paper bag and bid him goodbye.

When he arrived home, Shisui went straight to Sasuke's room, where the teen was clutching his bed covers up to his chin, sweating and shivering simultaneously. He spoon-fed his cousin the herb mixture, giving sips of water as he did so. An hour later, Sasuke was back to his usual self—snarky, constantly pissed off, the usual.

They gathered up Naruto and Itachi, then headed to town for some more "fun" as they older men called it. Sasuke didn't like it at all, memories from last night still fresh in his mind. Apparently, the carnival was in town. It was rather prestigious, with amazing acrobats (the rumor was that a new one had been recruited from Konoha itself) delicious confections, and various attractions. Carnaval de SOL had always been a fun thing Sasuke loved to attend with his mother. They would always buy elephant ears, watch the enchanting acrobats, play various games, then wind down by the Asano river, watching the fireworks overhead.

They last went when Sasuke was twelve, after his birthday celebration went awry. His father never showed up, and the boy had broken his arm after falling off a cart. Mikoto had felt so bad for him, that she spent the entire day the carnival came buying Sasuke gifts, hugging him, and planting kisses on his forehead. Shrug her away he might, but secretly, Sasuke loved it.

Now here they were, in front of a large, colorful sign with _Carnaval de SOL_ written on it with fancy script. Beyond it, multitudes of civilians wandered around, talking, laughing and munching on treats. Sasuke breathed in the smell of the place—fried bread, sugar, caramel, grass—and gave a ghost of a smile. He was always a kid at heart.

"God I love this place," said Naruto, his cerulean blue eyes shining. "I really missed this back in Uzu."

The other three agreed, then paid their entrance fees. Immediately to their left was a cotton candy stand, and immediately to their right, a game where a ball was thrown at a pyramid of milk cans.

"Let the games begin."

* * *

Night had fallen, food had been eaten, and boys had been strung up on sugar. Sasuke, Naruto, Itachi and Shisui had spent oodles of money buying their every desire. They'd puked—each—at least once, and laughed until their bellies hurt for the majority of the day. It was around nine o'clock, without anyone having any intent of going home soon. Next stop was the acrobats.

A large tent housed them, bright red and speckled with gold, The acrobats wore skin tight outfits of many colors, with their hair shaved close to their hed or pulled into a tight bun. On a podium, sat various hoops that hung from wires. People had piled into seats, chattering excitedly about the amazing show they were about to watch.

"Excuse me, is anyone sitting here?" someone asked Sasuke. He turned, and found Sakura, holding a bag of popped corn and standing with two people he didn't know. One, a woman, was blonde with the same green eyes as Sakura, and the man had dark red hair and burgundy eyes. They motioned to the three empty seats on Sasuke's left side. He couldn't say no, because his brother, cousin, and friend took up the ones on his other side. He reluctantly shook his head, and the family sat down.

* * *

**Notes—again, sorry it's short, but a short update is better than none, right? I promise next chap will be much better, okay?**

**Review!**


	5. I Think That's Called Karma

**The Perfect Princess**

**summary- "Sasuke, you have seven days to find a bride, or you lose the crown." Well, this was gonna be a royal pain in the ass.**

**notes- UGHHHHH I SUCKKKKK. THE LATENESS OF THIS IS MAINLY DUE TO LAZINESS AND POOR TIME MANAGEMENT. HATE IF YOU LIKE.**

* * *

**The Perfect Princess**

_**Chapter 5**_

* * *

_/Earlier/_

"Excuse me, is anyone sitting here?" someone asked Sasuke. He turned, and found Sakura, holding a bag of popped corn and standing with two people he didn't know. One, a woman, was blonde with the same green eyes as Sakura, and the man had dark red hair and burgundy eyes. They motioned to the three empty seats on Sasuke's left side. He couldn't say no, because his brother, cousin, and friend took up the ones on his other side. He reluctantly shook his head, and the family sat down.

_/Present/_

What the hell was it about this girl that made him so nervous? It wasn't like she was some kind of royalty, after all she was just a serving maid slash geisha. It couldn't be that she was especially beautiful; Sasuke could name a few other suitors he'd met who were more attractive. However, the way she seemed to look at him, like he was weak in her eyes, was what unnerved him.

Yet everything she passed off with a cheerful smile. It wasn't the fake smile many of his father's powerful allies gave him, the kinds that implied condescendence towaards him, but the kind of smile Naruto always had. It was genuine, like she really, truly cared.

"I've seen you before, right?" came a voice from Sasuke's left. "I remember your face."

Sasuke swallowed, peeking at Sakura from the corner of his eye. He hoped he hadn't left a bad impression.

_**God, you're such a weiner.**_

_Excuse me?, _thought Sasuke. _Where'd that come from?_

_**In the back of your head. **_

_Holy shit, I'm offcially going crazy. _

_**I blame our dad.**_

_OUR dad?_

_**Duh. Technically, you and me, we're the same person. Only, I actually say what you really think.**_

Sasuke shook his head. This was too weird. He waited a second, and when the voice didn't return, he looked at Sakura again.

"Um, hello?" she said again.

"Huh? Oh, I think you have. Maybe, possibly." answered the Uchiha prince. He internally crossed his fingers, praying to whatever god was out there she _wouldn't bring up the bathhouse._

The pretty pinkette looked at him thoughtfully. At first, her eyebrows were furrowed, then slowly began to relax before her eyes opened wide in what seemed like enlightenment. "Hey! You were at the bathhouse a couple of days ago, weren't you?"

A small part of Sasuke died at that very moment. He was a prince, dammit! Things like _that_ shouldn't be happening to him, much less being brought back up over and over again.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about."

"No, you had to have been. I remember seeing you there cause there was this guy that fell...on...me. Oh. My. God.

"YOU were the guy that fell on me!" cried Sakura, rather loudly. "OHMYGOD THAT WAS YOU. AND THEN, AND THEN _YOU_ WERE THE GUY WHO TOTALLY ANNIHILATED THE GRASS AMBASSADOR AND ALMOST GOT ME FIRED. OHMYGOD."

During her rant, Sakura had stood up, now officially making a scene. She was pointing at him, making sure that the person who she directed her yelling at was obvious. Sasuke could only turn red with embarrassment, as everyone in the enourmous audience turned to stare. Even one of the acrobats, with deep crimson hair pulled tightly in a ballerina bun stopped and gaped at the two, mouth hanging wide open.

"I HAVE TWO JOBS FOR A _REASON _YOU ASSHAT. IF I LOST EVEN _ONE_ OF THEM, I'D BE SCREWED TO THE POINT OF NO RETURN, AND YOU HAVE THE NERVE TO NOT EVEN _APOLOGIZE?"_

"Sakura!" screeched a voice somewhere on the stage. "_How could you?_ This was my debut, my moment! And-and you just took that away!"

Suddenly snapping out of her anger, Sakura whipped around to face the red haired performer. "K-Karin! No! I-I didn't mean to, I promise!"

The other woman shook her head, before turning away and walking off the stage. The two other people, who appeared Sakura and Karin's parents, stood up to rush after her, crying "Karin!" as they did so.

A sharp pain erupted in Sasuke's left cheek. He put a hand to his stinging face, and saw Sakura looking at him in hatred, her hand raised.

"This. Is. All. Your. Fault." she seethed, before running to the stage as well.

Shisui chuckled nervously. "Leave it to Sasuke to steal the show, right?"

Naruto nodded from beside Itachi. "Tell me about it."

* * *

The door to Sasuke's room slammed shut, reverberating the sound throughout the large castle. The raven haired teen collapsed into bed and buried his face in the cushiony pillows.

"Fuck life."

Someone knocked. When Sasuke didn't answer, the door creaked open, revealing his mother in the doorway. She strode over to him, sitting down next to him on the bed and rubbing his back in small circles, like she used to do when he was little.

"Sasuke-kun, I heard about what happened." said Mikoto, her voice soft and gentle.

Sasuke moaned.

"It's okay, you know," she continued, "your father was the very same way when I first met him."

At that comment, Sasuke raised his head and looked at his mother wearily. "You're kidding."

The queen laughed, her eyes crinkling at the corners. "No, he too had just about the worst luck in the world with me. In fact, his friends, Minato and the Hyuugas, introduced me to him at a ball for the noble families. Poor thing had no alcohol tolerance, and when those three gave him some wine, he vomited on my gorgeous blue dress. I was so angry, I actually punched him. Oh, how embarrasseed he must've felt."

The teen looked at his mother incredulously. His father? The king of Konoha? Surely not. As far as Sasuke was concerned, King Fugaku was quite possibly the most reserved, serious, composed man in the world. Nothing ever seemed to shake him, or even make him crack a smile.

"Really? Dad lost his cool in front of you?"

"Yes. Really."

The prince's eyebrow creeped up. His mother wasn't one to lie, but this seemed just a bit too out there. He sighed, and just buried into the pillow again.

Mikoto sighed as well, in almost the same manner as Sasuke. She started to rub his back again, not saying a word.

"Don't you worry, there's always tomorrow, Sasuke-kun."

* * *

**notes- FINALLY GOT THIS OUT GAH. Btw, I really wanna thank you if you've stuck around since the very first chapter, and you're still reading this story ^_^ You guys are so great, and I absolutely cannot wait for your reviews, so drop one down there!**

**Also, I will bo my absolutevery best to update this story every Friday or Saturday, so you guys won't have to wait another 75,000 years again :P**


	6. Day 3

**The Perfect Princess**

**summary- "Sasuke, you have seven days to find a bride, or you lose the crown." Well, this was gonna be a royal pain in the ass. AU. SASUSAKU.**

**disclaimer- nahhh.**

**notes- Holy shit I am so inconsistent with the format of this story. I'm sure you noticed I have like ten different summaries, because I try and remember it by memory and fail. I need to get my life together.**

* * *

**The Perfect Princess**

_**Chapter 6**_

* * *

_Day Three_—

* * *

Itachi walked into Sasuke's room just as he was waking up.

"Knock, you asshole."

"Knock knock." replied the older brother. "Listen Sasuke, perhaps it's good that you take a break. It isn't hard to see that you're...frustrated."

Sasuke sat up so quickly the entire length of his spine cracked. "Damn. Ugh, I am so tired of you and Shisui and Naruto trying to 'help' me with this mess. I don't need a 'break', I need a girl, and fast."

Itachi sighed. It was just like his brother to want to do everything my himself. Didn't he know that without Naruto, Shisui and himself, he would be making as much progress as he was making before Father even proposed his ridiculous idea?

"Otouto, Father said he's bringing in princesses again, and I think it would be better if you relaxed beforehand."

"What?" asked Sasuke. "_Again?_ This is fuckin' insanity. Father swears like I can't help myself."

"You haven't really proved that to him so far, and you only have four days left." said Itachi warily. The last thing he wanted was for Sasuke to get angry with him. "Now get dressed, I want to go to the market to get a gift."

The younger Uchiha scoffed. "A gift? For what?"

"A friend of mine has a birthday." Itachi began to head out the door. He turned to look at Sasuke just before leaving. "I need to get her some perfume they only sell in town."

_**Even Itachi's gettin' some, loser.**_

_You need to shut up._

_**I'm just saying. You need to get laid. You know who's real hot? That one chick-**_

_Shut. Up._

_**You know, the one from the circus, who's life you ruined? Daaaaayyyyyuuuummmmm.**_

_We are not having this conversation._

_**Heh heh, whatever you say.**_

* * *

"The hell are you wearing, teme?"

"Don't worry about it."

"You're such a girl, with all the different outfits you have."

"They're not 'outfits', they're just clothes."

"That you spend a lot of time on coordinating."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Gay."

"I'll have you know, there are many women who covet my attention."

"I didn't hear the words 'I'm not gay' anywhere in there."

"I fucking swear, if you-"

"Okay!" said Shisui, rubbing his hands together in an excited fashion. "The gang is on a roll again! Hey, where's Itachi?"

Sasuke and Naruto shrugged. When Itachi'd so rudely barged into his room earlier, Sasuke simply assumed he was already dressed and would be waiting outside. He had spent the better part of an hour getting ready after all, picking out a new favorite shirt (not that he'd tell Naruto that). It was a loose sleeveless top, black with the Uchiha symbol proudly emblazoned on the back. He held it closed with a purple rope belt that rode low on his abdomen, also keeping his pants up.

"I thought he'd be out here before us."

"Maybe he's busy picking out his new outfit for the day just like Sasuke over here." smirked Naruto, gesturing to the young prince beside him. "Betcha it runs in the family."

"Shut up, dobe." Sasuke growled. "At least we Uchihas look presentable. Which is a lot more than I can say for your...getup."

Sasuke'd been referring to Naruto's orange and black jumpsuit, the symbol of his nation on the back and a black bandanna on his head to match.

"I don't know what you're talking about; this," Naruto gestured to the clothing, "is pretty freaking sick. Makes me look hot."

The Uchiha looked him up and down distastefully. "It makes you look like you did when we were twelve."

"Rather have that than look like your uncle Madara."

"SHUT. UP. MY MOM SAID IT WASN'T MY FAULT. GENETICS GET FUCKED UP EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE."

"Mmmmhmmm."

Right as Sasuke made to punch Naruto in the gut, Itachi arrived, wearing his usual blue shirt and pants.

"Shall we go?"

* * *

"Ah, here it is." said Itachi, as he approached a small stand with a colorful sign. Behind it was a blonde woman- one that Shisui recognized. It was the same woman he had medicine from, what was her name? Kiiroko.*

"Hello," Kiiroko said cheerily. "How may I help you today?"

Itachi looked over the array of medicinal herbs, spices and perfumes. Some were clear and other were vibrant colors with scents that even Sasuke could smell at the back of the group.

"How much would it cost to have a custom scent?" he asked.

The blonde looked at him thoughtfully for a moment before answering. "Depends on the ingredients, but it usually isn't too expensive, and making it takes a couple hours or so."

"Could you maybe get it done a little quicker? Money won't be too much of an issue."

"If you like, I'll just take your name and what kinds of ingredients you plan to use, and I'll see what I can do, at no extra charge." the woman replied, taking out a notepad and pen.

"All right," Itachi agreed. "Something particularily citrus-based, especially lemons. But, not overpowering; it still has to be sweet."

"Alrighty," Kiiroko quickly jotted down his requests. "Now, I just need your name."

"Kuro Hane."

"Okay! Thank you, and I will see you in about an hour!"

She waved goodbye, and watched the group of Uchihas (plus one Uzumaki) walk away.

"What the hell was that?" hissed Sasuke. He found it completely stupid that Itachi would go so far as to have a special perfume _custom made _for what probably was just another one of his fangirls. "Don't you know that you are _not supposed to encourage the fangirls_?"

Itachi twitched. He looked at Sasuke, his eyes narrowed. "You think I'm doing this for a fangirl? I can assure you, Sasuke, that Mirai is more than just a fangirl. Perhaps it's jealousy that has led you to make such accusations."

_**Oh, dude, he just totally crushed your nuts right there.**_

_I wonder if you ever _shut up.

"You wish, Itachi. Besides, how long have you even known this girl? For all we know, she could just be some kind of leech that you're too blind to see past!" The younger sibling swung his arm back towards the shop to support his claim. However, he wasn't paying attention to the trajectory of his arm, and it made contact with something behind Sasuke.

Something that felt like face.

"OW!" cried the person. Their voice was little high-pitched, a little angry, and a little familiar. "What is your problem?! That was my nose!"

Sasuke turned around and only saw a flash of pink before blacking out.

* * *

"What the hell happened?" Sasuke asked when he came to. "And-ngh-why does my face hurt?"

Shisui looked like he was trying not to laugh. He pointed to Naruto, who seemed to be taking care of someone nearby. "That girl over there may or may not have totally laid you about ten minutes ago."

"What?" he looked over in Naruto's direction. When the blonde moved over, Sasuke saw the problem.

Sakura.

The pink haired girl made eye contact with him, and a look of rage instantly flashed on her face. She stood up, making her way over to the Uchiha for a good, long, rant.

"YOU AGAIN!" she yelled. "I CAN'T BELIEVE IT. WHY IS IT ALWAYS _YOU_? DO YOU _FOLLOW _ME AROUND OR SOMETHING, JUST TO MAKE MY LIFE MISERABLE? RIGHT NOW, I SHOULD-"

"Would you like to go to dinner with me?"

"E-excuse me?"

Sasuke sighed. "Would you like to go to dinner...with me?" he said, slowly and clearly. "My treat, and to make up for everything that's happened so far. Please."

Sakura hesitated to answer. She didn't know what time he'd want to meet up, and she had a previous arrangement. _But, _she thought, _he isn't ugly, and seems sincere._

"What time?"

* * *

**notes-Finally! the SasuSaku begins! I'm super sorry this wasn't updated last week, but I did my best to make this chapter a little longer for you guys :3 **

**And, I'd really like it if everyone checked out my poll! :P points for the blatlant advertising XD any future stories will most likely be done when I'm finished with the Perfect Princess**

**Please review! I love you guys!**


	7. Water Conducts Electricity, Duh

**The Perfect Princess**

**summary- "Sasuke, you have seven days to find a bride, or you lose the crown." Well, this was gonna be a royal pain in the ass.**

**disclaimer- dewn't ewn.**

**notes- OHEMGEE DID YOU GUYS LIKE MY HALLOWEEN STORY? lol I hope some of you read it, cause I liked writing it! :3 Anyways, I apologize for the lateness (as usual) but I'm glad you're beack for round 7! This is actually the halfway or so point of the story :O I know right! lol I hope you like!**

* * *

_**The Perfect Princess**_

**Chapter 7**

* * *

_6:30 p.m._

"That looks stupid, get the red one."

"Dude, should he wear new undies or just keep the ones he's got on? He might get lucky."

"Idiot, the girl's not that dumb."

"I can't believe she even said yes in the first place!"

"You wear those pants all the time Sasuke, wear these instead."

"Has anyone combed his hair?!"

"Okay, why does Sasuke smell like a girl?"

"Dammit! I told you guys to _get the green bottle_!"

"Green? I thought you said lean!"

"Lean is the one with the orchid scent! Great, now he smells like my aunt!"

"You say that as if smelling like my mother is a bad thing."

"If you're a girl, great! Despite our debates, Sasuke's a guy!"

"I still can't believe she said-"

"**ENOUGH!" **exploded Sasuke. He pushed his friends away, tearing whatever buttons and bows had been so carefully arranged about his body. His date wasn't until eight, but Itachi, Shisui, and Naruto refused to leave him alone! For over half an hour, they'd primped, bathed, fluffed, brushed, buttoned, zipped, pulled and chattered until Sasuke had decidedly had enough.

"I'm tired of this! You make me want to punch each and every one of you in the throat! I can do this myself!"

The three males stared at him blankly. Really, they'd just been trying to help, but the proud idiot wouldn't accept it. Lord knew that this was, in fact, Sasuke's first date and that he needed help in order to make a good impression on the girl that might just save him the crown.

"Sorry, teme," Naruto lamented. He directed his sapphires to the floor, before peering up at his friend shamefully. "We wanna help you, that's all. You really need to be good on this date, 'cause you've really screwed up every other time with Sakura-chan."

Sasuke buffered. "Sakura-chan? Since when did you become friendly enough to call her Sakura-_chan_?"

"I don't know, maybe in the ten mintes you were out cold." shrugged Naruto. He walked to Sasuke's closet, pulling out a navy blue sleeveless shirt like the one the prince was wearing earlier, only cut much higher, and a red scarf. The blonde also picked up a pair of black pants that came halfway down his shin, cinched at the opening. "Here. Your mom actually told me what you should wear, but once Itachi and Shisui got to you, it was too fun to stop."

Snatching the clothes from his hands, Sasuke headed for the door of his room. With all these idiots in his room, he dure as hell wasn't going to change in there.

"Oh, and Shisui? I'm not gonna change my underwear."

* * *

_7:45 p.m._

"Remember not to talk too much!" shouted Naruto, cupping his hands around his mouth.

Shisui waved him off. "Don't put your foot in your mouth!"

"Pay the bill!" Itachi added.

"Get dessert!"

"Ask about her!"

"Drinks!"

"AND GOOD LUCK!" the three boys added in unison.

Sasuke shook his head. He had to admit, his friends were pretty great, albeit annoying. They did take the time to prepare him for the date, after all, and gave him tons of advice to get this gir to like, no strings attached.

Now if only he executed it properly. The Uchiha seriously hoped that his luck would be much better this time around; it wasn't as if he could make a third first impression. Sasuke's sandals clicked on the cobbled road, and the lights of the village came into his view.

He breathed in deeply, putting his hands into fists and relaxing them again in an attempt to slow down his heart rate. His walk wouldn't be much longer, an there wasn't really any detours hecould take. Besides, it would be rude to keep Sakura waiting too long.

_Oishi Sushi_

Sasuke groaned when he read the sign. He was prince, the son of one the most powerful rulers in the land of fire, the five great nations!

And he quivered at the thought of being alone with a girl for an hour.

Truth was, although the prince was one coveted by many, he had never showed any real interest in girls. Not lke _that, _mind you, but he just found them all so annoying. They clung to him, asking for autographs and whatnot, trying to plant kisses on his face, it was brutal. Sasuke decided to just wait for that one girl who just, you know, _didn't _do all those things.

Maybe that was her.

He took another deep breath, and opened the door.

* * *

Sakura waited patiently for her date. Earlier, after she punched hm in the face as payback for, well, everything, he'd asked her out to dinner. He said he was sorry for the things he had done, and even told her to pick the place.

How could she say no?

Before she even went home, Sakura just had to visit Tenten and tell her the news. The brunette seemed really excited up until the point when Sakura told her his name; Sasuke. As in Prince Sasuke. Prior to this, she had no idea what the prince looked like, sounded like, even acted like until Tenten herself said so, since she worked for him.

That's just pure dumb luck.

He was late. Given, Sakura actually came twenty minutes early, but as her stepfather constantly told her, being five minutes early still means you're late. Everytime she heard the little bell at the door chime, Sakura would look over, hoping that he was here. It was 7:56 already, and the worst thing she could imagine was being stood up on the first actual date of her life.

Sure, Sakura had had many boyfriends, but those never lasted more than a couple weeks becasue of her job, and they never actually took her anywhere, just some quick cheek kisses and a flower at the river or something. Besides, he even offered to pay.

The fourteenth time the little bell chimed, Sakura didn't even bother to look up. She might as well order some sake or something until he showed up.

"Excuse me-"

"Sakura-"

Green eyes fluttered in surprise. "Oh, Sasuke! Your-you're here!" she exclaimed. "I, um, well..." the pinkette blushed, twiddling her fingers nervously. She pulled out a chair for him, but he didn't sit down.

Instead, he smirked, going over to her side of the table, pushing her chair in and pulling it out again. "Please, allow me." he said , gesturing to the seat.

Sakura sat down, her sunny personality suddenly shyed by this person's, well, everything. He was inexplicably handsome, his dark hair perfectly messy, shading his dark eyes in a way that would make any girl melt. His arms were toned and a little tan, the shirt he was wearing hugged his chest and waist...

_**CHA! Girl, pull yourself together!**_

_Have you seen him?_

_**I'm not blind! You gotta play hard to get, girl! Look at you, all hot and dressed up tonight! Make him drool, not the other way around!**_

_O-okay..._

Now, it wasn't as though the pinkette herself didn't turn heads. Tenten had a few younger siblings, and was always doing their hair, so she offered to style Sakura's hair for the night. It was in two braids, a large white flower tucked behind her right ear, matching her lacy white dress. It was in a short kimono style, a minty green obi tied in a large bow in the back.

Sasuke sat down in front of Sakura. The restaurant was a sushi bar, a conveyor belt traveling around the entire room holding plates and plates of sushi, rolls, drinks and desserts. Not all the foods were included on the belt; foods like Sakura's favorite, anko dumplings, and certain alcoholic drinks along with their wide varieties of ramen. The cost of the meal(s) was decided on the color of the plate of food you chose, as they were each designated a price.

The prince grabbed some mochi balls, picking it apart with his fingers and popping a piece into his (perfect) mouth. "So, um, what do you...like?"

"Well, um, I like trivia games, and reading." responded Sakura as she drank her complementary water. A california roll eased by, sitting on a dollar-fifty blue plate, and she took it, immediately picking one up with her chopsticks and eating it. She swallowed before asking, "What about you? Favorite color? Food?"

"Red. My favorite food is my mother's onigiri with tomatoes."

"Wait, your mom cooks? I just thought she let the others cook while she, you know, was busy being queen." said Sakura.

The Uchiha shook his head. He ate another mochi ball. "She likes to; only lets Kotane cook on weekends and big events." he replied.

"I see." the pinkette gulped the last of her water. "My mom's a good cook. I like her anko dumplings the most. Oh! And her tuna rolls! But, the soup she makes...ugh! I have such a hard time deciding!"

Sasuke laughed, but only a little. He certainly couldn't be seen laughing like a maniac in public; it would ruin his reputation! "And your favorite color?"

"It's kind of a tie with pink and green. Which, if you think about it, would probably be a really ugly color."

The corners of Sasuke's mouth couldn't help but turn up into a smile. This girl was interesting, already she had made him laugh _and _smile? Only a select few could do that.

"Can I ask you a favor?" asked the raven haired teen.

Sakura nodded. "Sure."

"Well, I'd like it if we...started over. Pretend like the past two days didn't happen. Would you do that?"

"Of course!" smiled the Haruno. "Let's do that, right now.

"Hi there, I'm Sakura Haruno."

"Nice to meet you, I'm Sasuke Uchiha."

* * *

_9:23 p.m._

_plip. plip. plip. plipplipplipplipplipplipplip plip-_

"Oh no! It's raining!" Sakura exclaimed, trying to shield her hair from the oncoming shower. "Ooooooh, my mother told me to bring an umbrella!"

Sasuke himself didn't mind the rain, he actually found it quite nice. It was August, and the dry season had settled rather uncomfortably. At least now with the late rains coming in, his mother would start growing tomatoes again. But, he didn't want to seem like a total jackass, so he took off his scarf, laying it over the green-eyed girl's head.

"There." he said.

Sakura tied the long ends into a bow under her chin, now forming some kind of cover for her braids and flower. "Thank you."

They walked to the pinkette's home in a comfortable silence, choosing instead to listen to the rain. The date had gone nicely. They learned many things about each other: Sasuke was something of a cat person, the last time Sakura had short hair she was seven, neither of them had good penmanship, and they both liked peppermint tea much better than green.

As soon as Saksuke realized he and Sakura had much in common, his fears were, well, gone. He actually felt extremely comfortable around her, it was almost like hanging out with his friends. The prince had made jokes and smiled, and even complemented Sakura on her eyes.

"Here we are." stated Sakura, standing in front oof her door. "Thank you, again, for the scarf and dinner and just," she shrugged. "thank you."

Sasuke smirked. "You weren't too bad. Do you want to, maybe, erm..." He scratched the back of his head nervously. It was harder asking her out the second time, since they were on good terms now. Why, he didn't know. In fact, it should've been much easier, but now that he actually knew her and maybe even _liked _her a little, his heart fluttered.

_**Tomorrow! Just say tomorrow!**_

"T-tomorrow?"

_**You hear that smack? That was me facepalming at your akwardness. Seriously, stuttering? What happened to us? We used to be great.**_

A bright smile crossed Sakura's features. Her eyes crinkled at the corners, and there were dimples on her cheeks. "Tomorrow. I'll see you right her at noon, okay?"

The prince nodded. He turned to leave, until a hand gently landed on his shoulder. Sakura turned him around, balancing on the tips of her toes and placing a quick kiss on Sasuke's lips.

_**Holy shit, I just got electrocuted. **_

"Bye, Sasuke."

"Good night, Sakura."

He walked away, to Sakura's cheerfully waving hand. Once he was out of sight, she let out a breath she didn't know was trapped in her throat, before sinking into the door. Sakura peeked inside her window, and saw the clock reading past nine-thirty.

Nine-thirty! Oh no, she was late! Surely Sai was worried about her by now. It was a good thing the rain had stopped, so Sakura could freely run down the opposite direction of the street, to a small building connected to a jewelry store.

There was an entrance at the back of the building, leading to a small apartment right above the jeweler's. Sakura opened the fading green door, flying up the steps to meet yet another door. It's paint is a soft purple, a single number 1 embossed near the top. She placed a hand on the pretty golden doorknob, turning it and revealing the apartment she had rushed to.

The windows were large and wide, irony to the fact that Sai was trying to keep a low profile. White paint coated his walls, making the colored furniture seem more vibrant. A plush mauve couch sat in the middle of the hardwood floor, next to it a green stand, and a pink-sheeted bed was pushed against the far left wall.

Laying casually on the couch was a slim, black-haired boy known as Sai. As always, he was busily drawing in a worn sketchbook, an array of colored pencils and paints on the nightstand.

Without looking up, he said, "You're late today, Sakura."

She nodded, plopping down on the bed. "I know, I was busy tonight. How are you? No more posters lying around? Did Naoki threaten to throw you out again?"

"I'm doing well. I did see some near that tea shop you work at, but it's always good to have a charcoal pencil, and not today she didn't." Sai sat up a little straighter, his expression becoming even more focused. His pencil scratched against the thick paper, forming what could've been large curves and lines or perfect, minute details that the picture wouldn't be complete without.

"I-I didn't get too bring you anything today, but I will soon, okay? Also, I'm sorry about the sheets, but I haven't had the chance to buy you new ones." said Sakura, crossing her legs. She felt unusually akward around her friend today; usually she was chatting up a storm about anything and everything.

"Hey, Sai? I know you don't like talking about it, or really talking at all, but could you tell me about your life back in Toryo no tochi?"

"Hm." the artist sighed, adjusting the sketch pad in his lap. "I was born into the Atisuto family, as you know. We lived in a very large house, with many maids." Sai drew as he said this, and presented a drawing of a beautiful house, lined with windows and elaborate frames around them

"As a child, I was tutored in many arts. My mother firmly believed that as a royal child I be able to play a variety of instruments, to have good posture, and to be able to dance impeccably."

He'd flipped to a new page, and covered it with pictures of violins, pianoes and a rendition of two people dancing what appeared to be a waltz.

"Oh. Wait, you were... royalty?" asked Sakura, faintly surprised. She could certainly see it, since Sai spoke very properly, did indeed have very good posture and dressed in such nice clothes. The fact that he was born in a small land near Konoha explained his unfamiliar way of dress. He often wore nice white button up shirts and black pants, often kept spotless.

"Our royalty isn't quite like yours; from what I've heard, the royal family is quite... scandalous, with all due respect."

"No, I understand. The princes aren't controversial, they just act like, well, like teenage boys is all." the pinkette said.

"I see." Sai replied, and continued with his tale. "Anyway, as time went on, I grew tired of the routine lifestyle and constant need of perfection. Invariably I begged my mother to let me pursue something new and different. I strived to pursue art. For years I had watched my father paint scenes that captivated me, scenes that either changed my idea of something or established a new love for it. I wished wholeheartedly to be able to do that.

"My mother, on the other hand didn't understand that. Instead, she pushed me harder, to excel in all the things I didn't like.

"So, I ran away."

This time, there was no bright, cheery picture to accompany the most recent section of the story. Sai presented a gloomy drawing of a young boy sitting in the rain, below a tree.

"Granted, I was sixteen at the time, so this drawing isn't entirely accurate. But, it's been two years of inconsistent housing, clothing that doesn't fit, and sometimes long periods of poverty, and I have never been happier."

A blank look crossed Sakura's face. Homelessness? Small clothes? Being broke? Happiness? Those words never went together in a positive thought. "Happier? Why?"

"Well, I am living my life. I do what I love, and spend time not with countless tutors and adults, but with myself, and my friend." said Sai, a small smile curving his lips. "Stay still for a moment, won't you?"

The petal-haired girl did as told, breathing as slowly as possible and doing her best to not move even an inch. A few minutes passed, before the black haired teen allowed to move. Sakura stretched out her arms, before being handed a drawing.

It was of her.

Every single detail was spotless in her eyes... the texture of her hair, the petals of the flower curving oh-so perfectly, even the lace on her dress was depicted just right. The expression of Sakura's face was so natural; her lips barely pursed and looking to the right, almost ike she was thinking.

"Oh, Sai... you made me way more beautiful than I am." breathed Sakura, looking at the picture admiringly. "This, I can't..."

Sai shook his head. "I can't do you justice; that drawing does not compare to you. Please, keep it. I mean it."

Sakura held the picture close, a soft grin on her face. She stood up from the bed, hugging Sai tightly as she could. "Thank you, really. It's absolutely beautiful." She approached the door, pulling it open and waving him goodbye. "I have to go, but I promise I'll bring you some fruit or something tomorrow. Goodnight, Sai."

And she left.

* * *

**notes- Is this long enough to make up for the missed update? *twiddles fingers* Watcha guys think about Sai? He's gonna be kind of a big deal later, hint hint. Oh, and don't forget the big date! Sorry if it was a little akward, I'm not real experienced in writing kisses and shit :P Hey, also if you guys need or want a beta, I'm always up for that, or even if you just want help or something ^-^ **

**Thanks for reading, and don't forget to review!**

**~Love!**


	8. Day 4

_**The Perfect Princess**_

summary**—"Sasuke, you have seven days to find a bride, or you lose the crown." Well, this was gonna be a royal pain in the ass. SASUSAKU. AU.  
**disclaimer**—** **I own Naruto the same way Mitt Romney is president.**

first version; **unedited.**

.

notes—**Yeah, I know. Sorry. Ummmmm, at least you guys are getting back-to-back updates this week. Yay. I should be wearing my contacts right now, but I'm not so I can't really see anything. Also, trying to clean up the pre-story area, not sure if I like it this way or not yet. Eh.**

* * *

**The Perfect Princess**

_**Chapter 8**_

_Day Four—_

* * *

No.

No.

No no no no no no**—**

Hell no.

Now he'd done it. Sasuke's father had finally succeeded in making him pissed to the point of no return.

All he wanted was to go on his already second date with Sakura at noon, but _no,_ because King Fugaku just _had _to bring princesses and nobles and basially everyone he could get his hands on.

This was gonna be such a major headache.

"Sasuke." Fugaku approached his son, the ever-familiar frown planted firmly on his face. "Are you ready?"

"Tch, no." grunted the prince. He glared at his father intensely, crossing his arms indignantly across his chest. Sasuke and the king disagreed on many thingss, especially on Sasuke's progress in life compared to Itachi. The older boy interacted with civilians often, reaching out to those in need and visiting hospitals. He was very well-liked in Konoha, and many were disappointed when he conceded the crown to Sasuke. Now if only Sasuke had a younger sibling.

"You're going to do this whether you like it or not, Sasuke."

Not bothering to answer, the younger Uchiha pulled a blue jacket over his gray tank, zipping it all the way up dramatically as he could. No doubt he'd get some kind of lecture later about how Itachi wouldn't do such a thing or how he always took things gracefully. Personally, Sasuke could care less about what Itachi did or didn't do; they weren't the same person.

He followed his father down the stairs, lagging many steps behind. Halfway down, Sasuke saw a group of women lined up side by side in the ballroom. Oh yes, this was going to be fun.

"I thought I was engaged to Ino until I proved I found someone?" Sasuke hissed.

"Well, you obviously didn't like that, so why not give you options?" replied Fugaku, looking ahead.

"Of course this was something you did because you wanted to, " mumbled the teen. "And not because Okaa-chan threatened you."

"Pardon?"

"Nothing."

* * *

_Really? Lady Hinata? _Sasuke couldn't help but think. The second he saw the timid blunette standing in line, shying away from everyone else and twiddling her fingers, he knew his father had gotten desperate. Also joining her in the line was Princess Temari from Suna; Lady Ino (_ugh_); the Princess of Mist, Mei-something-or-other; among others he didn't recognize.

_**We're screwed, man. It's already past eleven and this thing hasen't even started; at this rate, you're not gonna make it in time for your date with Saks.**_

_Tell me about it._

Taking his place in the throne next to his father's, Sasuke immediately rested his cheek on his hand, a look of boredom already on his features. When the first girl came up, from Wave or whatever, the prince didn't even let her say her name before saying no. He did that with each and every girl, save for Hinata, because she was the kind of girl you just didn't want to be mean to, even if you were Sasuke.

"G-good m-morning, P-p-purinsusasuke." Sasuke shuddered at his royal name. "I-I'm su-sure you know my-my name is H-Hina-t-ta Hyu-g-ga. I-I-I am fr-from Ko-Konoha, and a-a no-noble-woma-man." stuttered the girl, avoiding the prince's eyes.

He took a deep breath. "Thank you, Hinata-san. My time was not wasted with you." He might have found many other females annoying, but Hinata, Sakura and his mother were exceptions. As children, they sometimes played with each other, Hinata more siting out than actual playing. Sasuke didn't mind her at all, although he wished she'd finally gather up enough confidence to get rid of that stutter. The only time she seemed to stop was when chastising her family members, or when she was with—

Naruto.

Huh. How strange. Come to think of it, Hinata blushed profusely around the dobe but no one else. Her stutter also worsened, if that was possible. Funny though, how Naruto would probably never notice.

Some thirty minutes later, Sasuke felt like he did in chapter 2—er, day 1. He was exasperated, tired and angry to a large extent, so much so he did the following:

"Well, I do like—"

"Stop talking." Sasuke held his hand up in front of the girl, stopping her suddenly. She emitted a small "eek!" and her mouth closed almost comically. The girl stepped back in line, looking at the floor in shame. The prince stood up dramatically, much to the alarm of his father. He threw an angry glare at Sasuke, his eyes taking on a strange red hue.

"What, might you be doing, Sasuke?" he said in a very low voice. "We are not finished here."

Sasuke huffed, "I am going to go meet someone, if you don't mind." He stormed out of the room, leaving behind a stunned King Fugaku and around thirty very disappointed ladies.

_**It's like one, dude.**_

_I know._

_**She's gonna be pissed.**_

_I __know._

_**She might punch you again.**_

_I fucking know._

_**Because last time, that hurt like h—**_

_Shut the hell up._

He started to run in the direction he was sure Sakura's house was in, sweat beginning to bead on his forehead from the blistering heat.

Sasuke found Sakura waiting on the front steps, a large hat on her head and a strange man sitting next to her. She was chatting with him animatedly, laughing and smiling. The man held a large sketchpad in his lap. He seemed to be drawing something as Sakura continued to talk.

"Sakura." Sasuke said, approaching her. "I'm sorry to have kept you waiting, but..."

When he saw the girl's green eyes dart away from his, he felt awful. It was sweltering today, and he'd left her to wait on the front steps, but at least she wasn't by herself. There was something about the man sitting next to her that put him off, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"Oh, are you Sasuke?" he asked, putting on a smile that didn't fully reach his dark eyes. "I'm Sai. It's...very nice to meet you."

* * *

notes—**I know it's a little shorter than usual, but don't worry cause there's gonna be another chapter tomorrow! As always, please review, favorite, follow, anything and everything means a lot!**

**Love!**


	9. Well, That Escalated Quickly

**The Perfect Princess**

summary**—"Sasuke, you have seven days to find a bride, or you lose the crown." Well, this was gonna be a royal pain in the ass. SASUSAKU. AU.**

disclaimer**—I'm starting to run out of ideas...**

second version; **self-edited.**

**.**

notes**—Herro! Aren't you guys glad I updated again so soon? Now, I'm all caught up ^-^ Oh, and your guys' response on last chapter was so great, thank you!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**The Perfect Princess**

_**Chapter 9**_

* * *

"Hello, Sai." Sasuke said slowly. So the guy knew his name; that meant Sakura'd talked about him. That had to be a good sign.

Sasuke held out his hand to the man for a handshake. When Sai took it, it was very proper and uniform, until there was suddenly a strong squeeze.

_**This bitch be trying to intimidate us! C'mon, lemme go ghetto on his ass!**_

_...There is no ghetto. _

_**Being ghetto isn't the same as being **__**in **__**the ghetto! Dumbass.**_

The prince squeezed back. There was no way he was gonna pretend this never happened, he was the one and only Prince Sasuke, and he deserved to be treated as such.

"...Well, it was so nice to talk to you Sai, but Sasuke-kun and I have somewhere to be." chimed Sakura, wreching their hands apart. She smiled, taking Sasuke's hand in hers and waving goodbye to the other dark-haired man.

"I will see you later, Sakura." replied Sai. "Kasutera?"

The pink haired girl nodded. "Kasutera."

* * *

"So, who is he?" Sasuke asked.

"A friend."

"From?"

"A while ago."

"How did you meet?"

Sakura punched Sasuke's arm, making a _whump _sound against the white fabric of his top. It was similar to the blue one he wore the other day, with long sleeves hiding arm guards that extended to his knuckles, and a small Uchiha fan at the back of the collar.

"Don't be jealous; I have no feelings for him, don't worry. Sheesh, this is only our second date and you're already protective. I guess that means you really like me, huh?" she joked.

The faintest of blushes dusted Sasuke's cheeks. "No I don't. I only like pretty girls."

"You're so mean!" Sakura exclaimed, laughing as she once again punched the raven's arm. "You looooooove me."

They arrived at a small area next to the Asano river, shaded from the intense heat by large leafy trees. Afer they sat down on the ground, Sakura almost immediately began to talk animatedly, telling Sasuke just about everything that happened seemingly then entire week before.

"I still can't believe Ayumi purposely spilled her drink all over my green kimono right after she said I look fat in it! Well, maybe not like that, but it was implied from when she said**—"**

**"**Sakura."

"Oh, and then on Thursday**—**"

"Sakura."

"**—**so naturally I had to pull her hair, you know**—"**

Sasuke thrust his hand over Sakura's mouth, silencing her. In truth, her logorrhea was rather impressive, almost rivaling Naruto's. In the ten or so minutes they'd been sitting there, Sasuke was sure she'd only taken one breath, and that after he'd shut her up.

The pink haired girl huffed indignantly, crossing her arms over her chest, mouth still covered by Sasuke's hand.

"Sakura, I have something very important to ask you. You need to think very, _very _carefully before you answer.

"As I'm sure you know, my brother doesn't want to be King. Therefore, it's up to me to rule Konoha, but I can't do it alone. There's an ancient law saying that a Queen must have a husband or that a King has to have a wife; before they get appointed the position.

"I still need a bride, and ever since I turned eighteen last month, my father**—"**

_**And cousin and brother and friend**_

"**—**have been pressuring me to find someone, but it's been such a hassle, and in reality, I've never really had a girlfriend. That's why I want to ask you something:

"Sakura, would you marry me?"

Taken aback, Sakura looked away, playing with the hem of her pink shorts. She never thought he'd move this fast. Sure, she liked him (a lot) and he was just so nice and gorgeous and he had to be super smart and she actually wouldn't mind being married to him because hello, _bragging rights,_ but was she really ready?

_**SHANNARO! This guy can't be serious! Does he seriously think we can fall for him that easily? Girl, you need to put him in his place! **_

"Sasuke, I...I don't know what to say. I can't say I'm not flattered, because it's not everyday some random girl gets asked to marry the prince of Konoha, but I just...I just don't think I'm ready. I mean, it's only been a day, maybe, and I still barely know you."

The dark haired prince cracked his knuckles, his elbows, wrist, even his toes (which was hard in his sandals), anything to get over his nerves. "But if you and I get married, we can have all the time in the world to get to know each other. Please, I really really need you to help me. Four days ago, my father told me I had a week to find a girl, and if I don't, I am going to have to marry someone I can't even stand."

_**This is a new low for us, man. You're practically giving her the puppy-dog eyes.**_

Sakura chewed her lip. Her heart pounded with the weight of the decision, but something in her gut told her to just say yes. There was something about him that made her smile, and that kiss...

_**Oh, no...**_

"I...you..." she sighed deeply, ignoring the small voice in the back of her mind running around madly and instead listening to that little feeling in her core. "Yes."

Sasuke was speechless. She said yes? _She said yes? _Holy. Shit.

"W-what?" he squeaked.

"I said yes. Yes, I will marry you."

It seemed kind of stupid to ask, but Sasuke just had to know, "Why?"

The pinkette smiled bashfully, and now it was her turn to blush. "I'm not really sure. I mean, I really want to help you, but there is just something telling me yes." Her long locks flitted in the faint breeze, and she subconciously ran a hand through them.

Sasuke stayed silent. A few minutes passed before his face broke out in a rare, large smile. He exhaled in a relieved manner, also running his hands through his hair. The prince laid his hand over Sakura's, grabbing it gently. He pulled the girl towards him, wrapping her in a hug.

"Thank you."

* * *

"Sai!" blurted Sakura, tumbling through his purple door. "Sai! You will not believe what happened!"

The former prince looked up from his thick book, a small expectant smile on his features. He loved hearing Sakura's stories, usually vibrantly told, and they brought a certain color to his day.

When Sakura almost fell in her excitement, he quickly caught her, taking the pastry bag from her hands.

"First things first; kasutera?" he asked.

"Kasutera." Sakura said, smiling a little at their inside joke. Sai loved the sponge cake, and every oppotunity she could, the pinkette would snatch some from work (she'd still pay of course, but she got a discount) and bring it to him, along with other interesting trinkets and snacks.

He reached into the bag, pulling out a thick slice, and happily biting into it. In between mouthfuls, he asked Sakura about her day.

"Well, Sasuke asked me to marry him today!" chriped the Haruno, blush swirling in her cheeks. "Can you believe it?"

"Why would he do that? You've only known him for two days. Surely you said no." As soon as he said it, Sai wished he could take it back. How dare he let his feelings get in the way of Sakura's happiness! "I-I mean..."

"No, I understand." Sakura said. "I thought the same thing, but it turns out that he really needs someone to marry him." she went on to explain the entire situation to him, in that colorful way Sai liked.

The entire time she talked, Sai drew. He did that every time, and Sakura never found it akward. In fact, she would rather he do that than actualy look at her the entire time. For some reason, Sakura always got nervous when the attention was solely on her. Funny, being something similar to a geisha.

The small wooden clock mounted on Sai's wall chimed nine times.

"Oh my goodness!" cried Sakura. "Time flies when you have a good time!" She placed her hat on her head, although it didn't really matter since it was nighttime, climbing off her usual spot on the bed and heading to the door.

"I'll be back tomorrow, Sai."

"Wait." he said. Sai stood up, carefully tearing out some papers from his sketchbook. "Here."

The pinkette took them, flipping through them. Alone, they looked like random drawings of a girl placed erratically on the page. But when Sai showed her how to flip through them rapidly, she saw that they were like a motion picture, of a girl dancing.

"Do you like it?"

"I love it."

And later that night when she was walking home, Sakura's heart fluttered.

* * *

notes**—I didn't really put any elaboration this time, but I was kind of bad with my time managment today :P Again, thank you guys so much for all of your reviews last chapter! I also can't believe this story has more than 40 follows, that's kind of a big deal for me :) Please review again, it really does mean a lot, and it inspires me to write more :)**

**Love!**


	10. Day 5

**The Perfect Princess**

summary**—"Sasuke, you have seven days to find a bride, or you lose the crown." Well, this was gonna be a royal pain in the ass. SASUSAKU. AU.**

disclaimer—**don't remind me...**

first version; **unedited.**

**.**

notes—**Yes! On time! Kind of! Did you guys enjoy your Thanksgiving? My sister and I watched the Twilight movies all day before seeing Breaking Dawn pt. 2 today :3 Thank you all so much for all the reviews you left me the last two chapters! They made me so happy! **

**And one more thing: the world this story is set in is like the one in the original series; it's not a very clear time period, 'cause they have cinemas and T-shirts but no cars or phones, etc. etc.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**The Perfect Princess**

_**Chapter 10**_

* * *

_Day Five_—

* * *

"And she said yes?" Naruto asked, surprised. "Sakura-chan actually said yes?"

Sasuke sighed for what seemed like the millionth time. "Yes, dobe. Sakura said yes."

The blonde's sapphire blues crinkled in a smile. It stretched across his whiskered face and seemingly into his ears. He punched Sasuke in the arm playfully, giving him a knowing wink.

"Oh yeah! Sasuke Uchiha, ladies man extraordinare, has finally caught the big fish!"

"Never say that again." deadpanned the raven. "And I am not a ladies man, I'm just hot."

"Aha. Ahahaha. You are just too hilarious, my emo friend."

"We're friends?"

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Don't be like that, now come on," he grabbed Sasuke's arm. "You gotta go tell your fam."

* * *

When Sasuke told Itachi, it was humiliating. The somewhat quiet surprise and smirk made Sasuke wish instead for a crazy reaction, something along the lines of wide-eyed surprise and possible jumping around.

The worst part was what he'd said.

"Interesting." No 'congratulations foolish little brother' or 'how nice', not even 'I can't believe she said yes'. Nothing, just 'interesting'.

Why would he say that?

* * *

When Sasuke told Shisui, he mostly surprised at the fact Sasuke even proposed in the first place.

"Wait, you did what?"

"I proposed, baka."

"And...you didn't scare her off?"

"No."

"Cool."

* * *

But when Sasuke told his parents, it was one of the most satisfying moments of his life. Mikoto was just so proud, even Sasuke couldn't believe it. She jumped out of her seat in a very unqueenly manner, hugging her youngest son and tearing up.

"Oh, Sasuke-chan! This is wonderful news! It's amazing that you were able to find someone so quickly! Please, tell me everything!"

"Now, Mikoto..." cut in Sasuke's father. He was surprised in the same way Itachi was; quiet, his eyebrows slightly raised. No smirk though, his jaw was still set tightly.

"Sasuke, I must admit this is a very surprising turn of events. However, I must commend you on your new status. ...Good job."

_**Hell. Yes. **_

And then, in a very rare moment of affection, Fugaku stood up, approached Sasuke, and put a hand on his shoulder. HE squeezed tigtly, giving the prince a small smile.

"Don't mess it up."

* * *

Shisui had gone on a date with Suzume, and after being told the news, Itachi was nowhere to be found. So instead, Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Namikaze-Uzumaki set out on an adventure by themselves. Dressed in T-shirts emblazoned with their respectable clan's crests and plain blue pants, they walked the short distance to downtown.

"Wait, why are we here again?" whined Naruto, hands folded behind his blonde head. The two had been walking around for a while with no apparent destination.

The raven smacked him in the back upside the head. "Dobe. We need to find a ring for Sakura."

Naruto smacked him back. "Teme. We've passed like, a ton of jewelry stores. I know your dad's eyesight sucks but I didn't think it would've been passed to you so soon."

A small sweatdrop appeared on Sasuke's head. Naruto was probably right.

_**Y'know, Saks lives near a jewelry store. **_

_She was sitting in front of a jewelry store, she doesn't live near one._

_**Oh yeahhhh with that one guy.**_

_Shut up._

Just the thought of Sai made Sasuke...jealous? No, Uchihas don't get jealous. Do they? No! No they did not! Why was Sasuke questioning himself? He. Was. An. Uchiha. Uchihasdon'tquestionthemselves!

The way he sat with Sakura, so close, and the difference in the smile he gave to her and to him. The smile Sakura recieved was genuine, teeth and all. But Sasuke's...Sasuke's was fake. It was tight-lipped and didn't reach his eyes, almost condescending.

However, Sasuke was still in a good mood from yesterday, and he decided not to let Sai ruin it.

"Come on, Naruto. We're going to the jeweler's." he said, waving the blonde over. He laughed a little, a big stupid grin on his face and his eyes ever-so-famously crinkling. It was that smile that Sasuke was sure had many Uzu girls falling at Naruto's feet.

"Uh, so what's it called?"

"I don't remember. I just know it has big windows and a blue sign."

Not five minutes later, they boys had arrived at what was revealed to be Midoriko's. Just as Sasuke recalled, two large windows were on either side of the door, and a big blue sign advertising it's goods was placed a few feet in front of the store. Displayed in the windows were rows of necklaces, bracelets, rings and earrings, in gold or silver or even titanium.

Just before going inside, Naruto elbowed Sasuke in the ribs.

"Ow! What the hell!" he exclaimed.

"Shhhh!" hissed the blonde. "Dude, do you see that? Do you see what I'm seeing?"

The Uchiha rolled his dark eyes. Surely Naruto must have gotten into Itachi's special bag that he held for one of his friends, Deidara. Only one time had Sasuke dared to get into it, and the smell that came from it was so disgustingly powerful that he vowed never to get into Itachi's bag again. Once, after said incident, the younger prince had walked past his brother's room during Deidara's visit, and a strange cloud of smoke puffed from underneath the door, causing Sasuke to feel kind of strange the rest of the day.

When he'd asked Itachi about it, he just said never to touch what was in the bag, or Sasuke would start seeing things and get fat.

So naturally, Naruto must have touched what was in the bag, since he was always hungry and saw strange things.

"No, dobe, I don't see anything." Sasuke replied.

"No, I'm serious! That's Itachi over there, makin' out with some chick!"

This time though, Sasuke saw it too. On the other side of the street, sitting on a bench, was none other than Itachi, kissing an unknown girl. Sasuke rubbed his eyes vigorously, but his brother and the girl were still there. This was indeed a strange occurrence. Never did Itachi show any signs of having a significant other; a girl had never come to the palace or so much as smiled at him in public.

_'I can assure you that Mirai is more than just a fangirl.'_

That sneaky bastard!

The girl stood up, said something to Itachi, and walked away. Naruto and Sasuke took this opportunity to run across the street and question Itachi about what had just happened.

"Itachi!" Sasuke spat, eyes wide. "What. Was. That."

"I don't know what you're talking about, otouto. I was just sitting here enjoying the scenery."

"Lies! We just saw you sucking face with that blue haired girl who just left!" Naruto cried and pointed in the dirction where she'd gone.

Looking defeated, Itachi sighed. "All right. I Have something to confess to you. For the past year I have been seeing someone. You just saw her, and her name is Mirai Nadeshiko. Her hair is blue and her eyes are blue. She turned twenty-three a few days ago, and likes to sing. Are you happy?"

"Heh heh! Itachi! You and Sasuke have got a gene!" Naruto said.

"Nothing of the sort, Naruto-kun. Why, it was Mirai who initiated the entire relationship."

"And you haven't proposed why?!"

"We are taking it very slowly and will make that decision when we are both ready."

"Tch." scoffed Sasuke, crossing his arms. "Scaredy cat."

"Be quiet, otouto."

"Well, we gotta go Itachi. Sasuke here needs to get Sakura-chan a ring and I'm gonna help him pick the perfect one!" Naruto declared, dragging Sasuke away.

* * *

Although it was a bit early to be visiting Sai, Sakura's bosses had given her the rest of the day off and Sasuke hadn't asked her out today, so she decided to make the most of her free time. It was a little cooler today, so the pinkette zipped on a pink vest over a yellow shirt, slipped into a blue skirt and put on her boots. Sakura decided to leave her hair down, so it could dry after her shower.

In her left hand Sakura carried a small container of Sai's favorite food; momen-tofu. Personally, the girl hated the stuff, the firmness and tastelessness, it was disgusting. Sai however, ate it happily, with noodles or meat or even by itself.

Normally, she would have spent a few minutes admiring all the little trinkets in Midoriko's, but decided not to that day. She skipped past it, entering the alley that led to Sai's apartment, when she bumped into someone.

"Ooof, sorry." she chirped, wiping off the white shirt. "Oh, Sai?"

The black-haired man was dressed in his usual ensemble, and instead of his usual passive expression, he wore one of urgency.

"Sakura, I..." he started, but finished with pulling Sakura closer by the shoulders and kissing her.

The pinkette was so startled she dropped her tofu container, and tried to push away from Sai. His grip was strong, and her attempts were left in vain.

"Mmmfmmfhg!" she placed her hands squarely on his chest in a last-ditch effort, and then heard a familiar voice.

"Sakura?"

* * *

notes—**oh. Crap. Even I'm excited to find out what happens next XD Ummmm if you haven't checked out my poll, you should go do that especially 'cause I have added another choice: Seventeen (Again). It's sort of the vague idea of the movie, but not the same plot :P Of course, you should do that after you leave one of your lovely reviews! **

**Hugs!**


	11. You Want a Heart? Take Mine

**The Perfect Princess**

summary—**"Sasuke, you have seven days to find a bride, or you lose the crown." Well, this was gonna be a royal pain in the ass. SAUSAKU. AU.**

disclaimer—**nnnnnnnnnnnnno!**

first version; **unedited.**

**.**

notes—**OHMYGOD YOU GUYS. THE DRAMA. Lol your response to last chap was amazing, thank each and every one of you! Like, legit, 50+ alerts and over 30 favs? OHMYGOD. So! Let's get on to the good stuff, shall we?**

* * *

**The Perfect Princess**

_**Chapter 11**_

* * *

"Sakura?"

For a second, Sakura wasn't sure if her heart was either going to beat out of her chest or not beat at all. All she knew was the it was absolutely critical she get Sai off of her _now._ The girl finally shoved him off, wiping her mouth quickly and her face red.

"Sasuke—I, really—it's—"

"Are you serious, Sakura?" spat the Uchiha. He was so mad, it was numbing. His mind was blank, and it felt like he had no strength anywhere in his body.

"Are you serious?" he said again, and his eyes seeemed to look red. "I can't believe you. Yesterday, I told you _everything, _I asked you to marry me, and you said _yes,_ then this?" Sasuke snorted, shaking his head slowly, and turning away in disgust at the pinkette.

Before walking away, he looked back. "You were right. We don't know each other, or else I would've seen this coming."

"Wait," Sai spoke up. "It was my fault—"

"You shut the hell up!" In seconds, the young prince was on top of the ex-royal, his fist connecting multiple times with his face.

"Teme, leave him alone," Naruto rushed over to the fighting duo, trying to pry Sasuke off Sai. He gripped the older teen's shoulders pulling back, but instead caused Sasuke to whip around and punch him as well. "Shit! My nose!" A slow trickle of blood trailed from it, the coppery taste filling his mouth.

That seemed to snap Sasuke out of his rage. "Are-are you okay, dobe?" A look of concern knitted his eyebrows together. "I-I'm sorry."

Naruto sniffed and wiped away the blood. His nose stung, but nothing unbearable. Besides, he could worry about his nose later; right now he needed to get Sasuke away.

"I'm fine. C'mon Sasuke, let's go."

Again, the red in Sasuke eye's appeared. _Oh no, _Naruto thought. If this continued, he knew that the end result was going to be far from pretty. Many years ago, an old witch cursed the Uchiha, that when under intense anger their eyes would turn red and they would become terrible creatures. The black tattoo on Sasuke's neck was a permanent testament to that curse.

Small black tomoe appeared around his pupils, spinning rapidly. Black flame designs creeped onto his face, occasionally glaring orange.

"Sasuke, I'm sorry!"

Almost immediately the desings receded, and Sasuke's eyes returned to their normal black. He faced Sakura, his mouth set into a hard line. "Don't waste your breath, Sakura."

"No, really." The pinkette approached the prince. Her green eyes were watery and her chin trembled. "I'm so sorry."

"No you're not. I can see that you obviously have something with this guy, something you and I don't have. I'm done, Sakura. I need to leave."

Sasuke reached into his pocket, pulling out something that glinted brightly in the sun, before making a disgusted sound at it and throwing on the ground.

"Oi, teme—" Naruto started to say.

"No." Sasuke cut him off. "No. I need to be by myself. I need to figure out how I'm gonna tell my dad that this has gone to hell and how I'm going to tolerate someone for the rest of my life that I don't even like being in the same room with."

He gave everyone one last look, before walking away in the opposite direction.

Naruto tried to give Sakura something along the lines of an encouraging look, but his eyes held what looked like disappointment. "I dunno what to say, Sakura-chan, but I gotta go."

He too walked away, in the direction Sasuke had left in.

Now, it was only her and Sai. The black haired teen had an unreadable expression, shoving his hands into the pockets of his pants and turning away.

"My apologies, Sakura." he said.

And then, Sakura was left standing there, alone.

* * *

Was this garden the place he always went to when he was mad? Once again, Sasuke was sitting against the large lemon tree wondering just what was becoming of his life.

He sighed, running a hand through his long fringe and keeping it there, allowing him to see much more clearly, both literally and figuratively.

What he saw in town hurt him. A lot. It might not've been love, but what he felt for Sakura was something strong. Sasuke could easily see himself spending the rest of his life with her, but now that vision was shattered. It was clear she and Sai had something much more he and Sakura would.

Sasuke stood up, letting his hair fall back into his eyes. He walked through the bushes into the palace's lawn, entering the establishment via back door. The teen crossed the ballroom, striding up the stairs to his parent's room. As expected, Fugaku was on his bed reading a book; Mikoto was out with some noblewomen.

"Tou-san..." said Sasuke.

The king looked up from his book, glasses perched on the bridge of his nose. Even while relaxing, he still held that regal look on his face that immediately let anyone know he was a man of high power.

"Yes, Sasuke?"

The prince sighed. Although he had no idea how it should be executed, Sasuke decided it was best he let his father know about this immediately.

"My...my engagement...is off." Sasuke told him bluntly. There was no hiding it, no sugarcoating and certainly no beating around the bush. The raven knew there was no messing around with his father, especially with such a serious manner.

King Fugaku removed his glasses. "Sasuke..."

"Don't worry about it." the younger Uchiha cut him off. "You win. I'll marry Ino, end of story."

"Are you sure? You don't have to."

Sasuke paused. Just a few days ago, his father gave him an ultimatum: relinquish the kingdom to Madara, or marry someone in seven days. Could it be that he really did want Sasuke to be king, to marry someone that he really wanted to, of his own choosing? Sure, he was told that his future wife was pre-chosen, but was it more of a precaution and not just his parents forcing a huge responsibility unto him?

"What?"

"Do you really wish to marry Lady Ino? You...you seemed so happy about your engagement to this unknown girl, but it has dissipated so quickly..." he looked away, not sure how to continue. "I just..."

"It...doesn't matter." Sasuke said. "Tell Ino we're getting married the day after tomorrow."

Sasuke left his father's room, almost crying. Why? He acted like this was some kind of big tragedy, the worst thing that had ever happened to him. He didn't love her.

He shouldn't feel this way.

* * *

notes—**The ending actually made me sad. Ugh. I'm having mood swings or something. Someone should give me chocolate. So, y'know how it said Sasuke's fam was cursed by some witch? That made me want to write a story based on that idea**—**meaning, if I did, would y'all read it? It would be a side project or something cause I really wanna do it now :3**

**Love you guys! Review!**


	12. Day 6

**The Perfect Princess**

summary—**"Sasuke, you have seven days to find a bride, or you lose the crown." Well, this was gonna be aroyal pain int he ass. SASUSAKU. AU.**

disclaimer—**Meh.**

first version; **unedited.**

**.**

notes—**:D. *eats SorrowoftheHeart's chocolate* YOU GUUUUUYYYYYSSSSS.**

* * *

**The Perfect Princess**

_**Chapter 12**_

* * *

_Day Six_—

* * *

Slowly and quietly, Naruto attempted to creep out of the Uchiha palace very early on that Tuesday morning. He was already showered and dried, a stolen pair of Sasuke's pants riding on his hips and his black T-shirt from yesterday pulled over his head.

The blonde had stayed over at Sasuke's last night, deciding it would be best not to leave him alone after the Sakura incident yesterday. Mainly, it had involved a lot of coaxing from Itachi and Shisui for the teen to even leave his room and join them in Itachi's. Even then, Sasuke hardly said a word, simply crossing his arms and moping the entire night.

Normally, Naruto would have stuck by the Uchiha's all day, except for the fact that he had other things to tend to. He very nearly out the back door of the kitchen, just a few more steps—

"Where are you going."

Stunned, Naruto turned, his eyes wide as plates. "I—uh—askjdglkf;—pshhh—oinjsbafj—_snort_—nowhere."

Sasuke raised one of his well groomed eyebrows. Naruto often made of them because the prince got them waxed every few weeks, but the raven insisted it was per request of his mother, "to keep a princely appearance," so she said.

"Don't lie to me, asshole." Sasuke replied flatly. His friend was such a terrible liar, and besides, what else would he be doing so early in the morning next to an exit?

The blonde's gaze darted about the room as he tried to think of a comeback. He sighed, knowing there was no lying to the Sasuke Uchiha, and fessed up.

"I'm going out."

"Where?"

"To...meet someone." Naruto said sheepishly, smiling out of the corner of his mouth. At the same time, though, Naruto felt shameful—not because he was going out with a _girl, _but because he was going out with a girl right after Sasuke basically got dumped by his. It really sucked, actually, but he'd canceled plans for weeks, and it wasn't like he expected this whole thing to happen anyways.

Sasuke's face was blank. "Seriously."

All the Uzumaki could do was nod, and hope his best friend didn't smack him. He actually braced himself a little for some kind of hit, but didn't get one.

"Who is she?" asked Sasuke, somewhat curiously. To his knowledge, the blonde'd never had a girlfriend, so this was a pretty new concept to him.

Again, Naruto's eyes darted around the room. "N-no one," he said. "At least, not a-anyone that matters."

The prince couldn't help but roll his eyes. "God, you are the worst liar, ever." he replied snarkily. "Just tell me who it is."

Naruto answered with something that sounded vaguely like "I got a huge one."

"What?"

"Hinata Hyuuga, okay! Do you need me to spell it out? H-I-N-A-T-A-H-U-U—"

"I can spell, dobe." Sasuke scoffed, crossing his arms. "However you got her to _want _to go out with you, I'll never know, but just go already. If there's anyone you shouldn't be an asshole to, it's Hinata-san."

"Are you sure? 'Cause I know what happened yesterday—"

"_Go._"

* * *

Sasuke decided today was an alone day. He needed to mull over some issues he had with life—which were many. First, he needed to tell Lady Ino that their 'engagement' was now official, then he needed to tell his mother (If his father hadn't gotten to her first), try to organize a wedding that was gonna happen _tomorrow_—no doubt his brother and pals were going to want to throw some kind of bachelor party—and then find some time to shoot himself in the head.

What a day.

Once Naruto left, the Uchiha headed back to his room, and fell back onto his bed. He stared at the plain white cieling of his room, deciding that it wouldn't affect his day too much if he just...slept in...for a while...

"GOOD AFTERNOON SASUKE!"

At the sound of the yelling, Sasuke jumped nearly a mile into the air, entangling himself in the sheets and landing on the floor in a heap. Rubbing the back of his head where it had made contact with the corner of his nightstand, the raven shakily got up. He glared at Shisui, who stood in front of him, smiling innocently.

"Get the hell away from me." he growled.

The older Uchiha's smile widened. "Dude, you need to get out of bed. It's like, one, and there's a bunch of stuff we gotta get done!"

_One?_

_**Bro, we've slept in another seven hours. All right, new record!**_

_One?_

"C'mon, get dressed. I'll wait for you downstairs." the curly haired man started to walk away, but Sasuke stopped him.

"What—what are we doing today?"

"Uh, I'm not really sure, but it seemed like you needed to get shit done today 'cause you woke up, like, really early."

He left, and Sasuke proceeded to put on a red, high collar sweater and blue pants. His feet slid into some old blue sandals he was amazed still fit, and a comb was pulled through his soft bangs.

The teen stomped down the stairs, once again into the kitchen where Shisui and Itachi were waiting for him. They were eating what appeared to be cups of instant ramen. Sasuke shuddered. He despised the taste of instant ramen; it was so bland, but then it was salty with little ugly wrinkled vegetables.

Itachi slurped the last of his noodles, smiling contentedly and putting the cup on the counter. It looked rather small on the large wooden counter, as it wrapped around the entire room, leaving a space in the middle occupied only by an island that was the same color as the dining table. Dark brown cabinets holding large quantities of spices, flavorings and condiments were perched above the counter, and the fridge sat a few feet perpendicular to the island, right next to the older Uchiha men.

"All right otouto, what do we do first?" asked Itachi.

Sasuke deadpanned. "You're kidding me."

"No." his brother shook his head. "We just thought it would be a good idea to wake you up before tomorrow so you could get done with whatever it is you needed to get done."

"How do you even know I have things to do?"

"You just told me."

Sasuke really needed to get some new family members.

* * *

"Okay, so where does Lady Ino live?"

"Somewhere around here."

"Can I just...go?"

"No, it's your responsibility to do this, Sasuke-_kun_."

"I hate you."

"Go jump off a cliff."

"I was already planning on it."

Reluctantly, the now engaged teen approached the dark wooden door to Ino's house, and knocked.

He waited a few moments, until the door swung open.

Ino Yamanaka wasn't ugly in the least, Sasuke had to admit. Her hair was long and blonde and straight, with thick bangs that obscured one of her large baby blue eyes. She was tall (taller than Sakura), slender, and the purple dress she wore accentuated her curvaceous frame.

"Sasuke-kun! Hi!" she chirped, smiling brightly. The door opened wider, and the blonde beckoned the teen and his relatives inside.

"I haven't seen you in a while, Sasuke-kun! It's been what, four years now?" she said, as Sasuke, Itachi and Shisui sat down on some plush red chairs. "I remember almost a week ago some letter came from your family saying something about an engagement, and I just thought it was the strangest thing but didn't really pay it any mind—"

"Ino."

The blonde continued to ramble. "—Until the other day my mother told me you were looking for a _wife _and I was so happy for you, but it surprised me that you didn't have agirlfriend to propose to, but then again, a prince is always busy I suppose—"

"Ino."

"—This entire situation probably has you stressed like crazy, no doubt." she strode into the kitchen, and returned with four cups of tea somehow balanced on her hands and arms. Ino placed one in front of each of them on the coffee table.

"I know I would be, but I'm grateful my mother and father aren't pressuring me into getting married. After all, we're only eighteen, you know, so it's a little too soon to be thinking about such things, uh, no offense, Sasuke-kun, but you get what I'm trying to say. That reminds me, where on earth did my parents run off to? They said they were going to tend to the flower shop, but that was ages ago and they never take this much time—"

"Ino!" Sasuke sapped his hand over her mouth. "Listen to me. We, are getting married. Tomorrow." he said, slowly and clearly, lowering his hand from her full mouth.

Sasuke watched the blonde go through each stage from frowning to smiling to smiling hugely.

:(.

:|.

:).

:D.

8D.

8DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD—

"SASUKE-KUN!" she squealed, throwing her thin arms around the prince's neck. "I always thought you hated me, but you-you don't! You want to marry me! Oh my gosh, we need to get ready! I need a dress, an-and invitations, food, your tux, bridesmaids, oh Lord, I need a second." Ino pulled away, putting her hands on her cheeks and basking in the thought.

Sasuke opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off by his new fiancee.

"Don't you worry about a thing! Tell Queen Mikoto that my mother and I will handle everything! She will not have to stress a bit!" Kissing his on the cheek, the blonde ushered all three Uchihas out the door so she could start her party planning right away.

"I'll see you tomorrow Sasuke-kun! Love you!"

Sasuke could really use that gun right about now. Was there a cliff nearby?

* * *

notes—**Bro. I love all of you guys, seriously, let me give you all a hug :D So, Sasuke has gone through with what he dreaded since chapter one! Oh no! But don't worry, this **_**is **_**a SasuSaku story, so there's no need to panic! :D As always, please leave me one of your lovely reviews, they are always appreciated!**


	13. Didn't Know That Was There

**The Perfect Princess**

summary**—"Sasuke, you have seven days to find a bride, or you lose the crown." Well, this was gonna be a royal pain in the ass. SASUSAKU. AU.**

disclaimer—**unnecessary.**

first version; **unedited.**

**.**

notes—***checks stories* *spits out Arizona Mucho Mango on dog* 16 REVIEWS FOR THE LAST CHAPTER? SRSLY HSFKKGD:J:AJSSJDJ**

* * *

**The Perfect Princess**

_**Chapter 13**_

* * *

One down, two to go.

Once again, Sasuke was in his bed, thinking about the state of his life. This certainly wasn't what he had planned out as a child. His fantasy then was meeting a really pretty girl when he really wanted to, then getting married really soon after that, then becoming a really good king. It was actually a really good plan. At some point, Sasuke remembered actually writing it down on a piece of paper in that stupid cursive he was taught to use.

But no, he just had to be denied the satisfaction of running his own life. Instead, he was given a mere week to find a girl, like her, marry her, become king, and not piss off his nation.

What fun.

Maybe he was just being a pussy. Ino really wasn't _that _bad, she just occasionally let her voice go up a pitch too high, and her sentences run on too long. Besides, they'd known each other as children, and from what Sasuke had heard, they'd gotten along pretty well.

Sasuke puffed his cheeks with air, then let it out slowly. With two fingers he rubbed his temples, feeling an oncoming headache. He got up, left his room, and went over to his parent's.

Mikoto was was brushing her long dark hair in front of the mirror. Carefully, she then picked up two small diamond studs, pushing them through her ears and fastening them in place. The queen smiled, showing off her perfect white teeth.

"Kaa-chan?" Sasuke said, standing in the doorway. He always felt meek around his mother, because she was the only person he felt like a child around.

She turned around, her eyes softening at her the sight of her youngest son. When Sasuke was little, he often would come crying to his mother, asking why his father didn't love him as much as he loved Itachi. Mikoto would pick him up and hug him tightly, saying that Fugaku loved them the same, as did she. The small prince would wipe his tears, asking that, since Itachi was still his father's favorite, if he could be hers. She'd laugh, then kiss Sasuke and tell him yes.

"What is it, dear?"

The raven looked away nervously, crossing his arms. "Remember that...that I'm getting married tomorrow."

Mikoto smiled. "How could I forget, Sasuke-chan? I'm so excited, but you still haven't told me who the girl is!" she raised a perfect eyebrow in mock scolding of her son.

_Do I __have __to do this? _Sasuke thought. _I just want to crawl into a hole and die._

_**Uh, I don't think that's a very good solution to this problem, dipshit.**_

_Don't call me dipshit, dipshit._

_**I'll call you whatever I please.**_

_Just shut up, my mom's gonna think I'm weird if I don't answer her question._

"Oh, well," Sasuke rubbed at the back of his head. He grimaced a little, chewing the inside of his mouth. "You remember Ino?"

"Ino!" gasped Mikoto. "Sasuke, that's wonderful!" she rushed over to the teen, hugging him and kissing his forehead. "I'm so glad you actually gave her a chance, and look—now you're getting married!"

"Yeah..." Sasuke mumbled into his mother's chest. "Married..." he wriggled out of her grip, rubbing at his increasingly sore eyes. After losing control of himself yesterday, his eyes were bugging more and more.

"Is something the matter?" the queen cupped her son's face, looking over every inch of it. She noticed the redness in his eyes. "Oh, dear. The same thing happened to Itachi when he was a little younger than you...don't worry, I have drops!"

She walked over to her jewelry box, taking out a small clear vial. "Here!"

Sasuke tilted his head back, letting some of the vial's contents drip into his irritated orbs. "Thanks, Kaachan."

Before leaving, Sasuke called remembered something. "Uh, don't worry about the flowers and...stuff. Ino said she'd cover it."

"What a nice girl. Tell her I can't wait!"

* * *

What was he going to wear?

Sasuke was all about appearances, whether he'd admit it or not. He conditioned his hair with dedication, made sure he kept his perfect body, exfoliated, brushed his teeth _and _tongue _and _gums, made sure he always kept his nails perfectly trimmed, and of course, dressed to impress.

SO, he was going to have to do his entire routine either extremely early tomorrow morning, or right before he went to sleep tonight. How time consuming.

The teen threw open his closet door, pushing all of the clothes to one side. One by one he flipped through them, finding nothing he liked. About to simply throw himself on the ground in despair, Sasuke decided to just pull an outfit out of his ass.

Not literally, that'd just be gross.

Reaching into the farthest corner of his closet, Sasuke pulled out a simple black shirt. He removed his (extremely soft, comfortable) red sweater, and pulled the shirt over his head. It fit snugly over his chest and waist, and he zipped it low on his chest**—**right where he liked it.

Right in front of him, hanging on a wooden hanger, was a short, dark blue, short-sleeved jacket. A large Uchiha symbol was printed on the back, and the edges were trimmed in white. He too put it on, tugging on it a little. Sasuke opened the top drawer on his dresser, and grabbed a pair of white pants just like his blue ones. He stepped into them, marveling at the comfort despite the fact he hadn't worn them in ages, then found his best pair of blue sandals and put them on.

Not too shabby, although a little tight.

_**This is gay.**_

_You can do better?_

_**Obviously not, or you'd be wearing it.**_

_You love it._

_**I'm gonna leave before I say something mean.**_

That stupid little voice in the back of his head. Sasuke rolled his eyes, admiring himself a little in the mirror.

_Stupid bangs, _he mused. _No wonder my eyes are so irritated all the time. _

In Sasuke's opinion, they were getting a little long. He would need to trim them soon, or he'd start looking like the Grudge. The raven grabbed a comb, running it through his fringe and parting it in the middle. He put a little gel in his hands, keeping them there. Now, his forehead was visible, and he could blink without feeling little tiny hairs pricking the shit out of his eyeballs.

Carefully, the soon to be married prince peeled off his clothing, folding it neatly in a pile and setting it down on top of a box in his closet. His red sweater and blue pants were once again adorned.

He checked the time. Already six? Then again, he _did _end up waking up at one today, so naturally it would be a while before he was tired again. Sasuke shrugged, flipping the sweater hood over his head, and walking downstairs. Itachi and Shisui and told him to meet them at approximately six-fifteen, where they would go 'somewhere'.

God knew where that place was.

* * *

Lately, it seemed as if all Sakura had done for the past twenty-four hours was cry.

She cried after Sasuke, Naruto and Sai had left her alone in the alley yesterday. She cried herself to sleep. She cried during breakfast. Now, she was crying again.

On the job.

Table 6 was waiting on their dumplings, and they wouldn't be getting them anytime soon. Instead, they would enjoy another pot of tea while the pinkette waited inside the kitchen and wiped her tears hoping her mascara wasn't smudging like crazy. Sakura cringed at the sight of black splotches on the sleeve of her light green kimono, but decided to concern herself with the splotches on her face instead.

Sne sniffed, getting some water fom the sink and wiping her face with a paper towel. No one could see her like this! The last time she'd cried was at age 5, when stupid Ami cut her hair with a pair of blunt scissors.

A few minutes passed, until the girl felt comfortabe enough to pick up the small pot of dumlings and carry them out the kitchen door.

The people didn't seem the least bit concerned about the delay, they just smiled at Sakura and reassured her it was nothing to worry about. She bowed, rushing back to the kitchen to bring the check they'd asked for.

The group of seven people had paid, even leaving Sakura a nice tip. She was relieved they weren't mad, and even happier when she got to sign out a little earlier. There was some business she had to take care of.

First on the list, however, was going home and changing. Quietly, she opened the door and went to her room. She picked out a pair of leggings and a long yellow sweater to go over them. Sakura tied her hair in a messy bun, grabbing some fruit from the bowl on the dining table and heading out the door.

It seemed to have rained while Sakura was working her shift at the Mint Leaf. The ground as full of puddles, both deep and shallow, so the pinkette was careful not to step in any of them. She jumped over several, nearly losing her balance more than once.

The window of Midoriko's was still lit up. How strange, they usually closed at seven and, the last time Sakura had checked, it was seven-thirty.

She shrugged it off and walked right past the jewelry shop, into the alley next to Sai's apartment. The back door of the building was unlocked, so Sakura was able to walk in as usual.

Soon finding herself at Sai's lavender door, Sakura took a deep breath and knocked.

* * *

notes**—I know, this is super late 0.0 I was really busy this weekend, and yesterday I fell asleep really early :P ANYWAYS! THANK YOU GUYS! I CAN'T BELIEVE HOW MANY REVIEWS I GOT LAST CHAPTER! THAT HAS BEEN THE MOST SO FAR :DDD WOULD Y'ALL BE SO KIND AND DO THAT AGAIN, PRETTY PLEASE? **

**Hugs!**


	14. DAY 7

**The Perfect Princess**

summary—**"Sasuke, you have seven days to find a bride, or you lose the crown." Well, thiss was gonna be a royal pain in the ass. SASUSAKU. AU.**

disclaimer—**I...do not.**

first version; **unedited.**

**.**

notes—**Almost there!**

* * *

**The Perfect Princess**

_**Chapter 14**_

* * *

_Day Seven_—

Sasuke'd woken up early again, of his own accord. Even though he had gone to sleep very late last night, he woke up feeling rather refreshed and alert.

Today felt like it was gonna be a good day, Sasuke just knew it.

The teen sat up in his bed, stretching his long arms out on either side and yawning. Bright sunlight streamed in through the large windows opposite him. After running his fingers through his hair and rubbing any leftover sleep from his eyes, the raven began to think about what today was going to look like. First, he was going to eat a huge breakfast, just 'cause he was feeling especially hungry today, pick out something comfortable to lounge in, and maybe even tolerate his family today.

Family...

Extended family...

_In-laws..._

Sasuke almost didn't make it to the bathroom before he puked. He gripped the rim of the toilet with one hand and felt around blindly for the handle to flush it. The water swirled around the white bowl, washing away any evidence of what just occurred.

_I'm getting married today..._the Uchiha cried in his thoughts.

_**Calm down, would you? **_

_HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO CALM DOWN WHEN I AM GETTING MARRIED TODAY._

_**Close your eyes and pretend it's Sakura.**_

_..._

_I swear I am going to get an exorcism and get rid of you._

Once the youngest Uchiha had effectively emptied the contents of his stomach into the toilet, he turned on the sink and began to brush his teeth vigorously. He spit out the foam, then squeezed another large quantity of toothpaste onto his brush. The bristles scraped at every portion of his gums, teeth, and tongue, removing the horrible taste in Sasuke's mouth.

_Retch._

Guess he reached a little too far back.

* * *

"Sasuke!" Ino cried, rushing towards the Uchiha. She threw her arms around his neck.

"Ino..." Sasuke sighed.

The blonde pulled away, and smiled brightly. She had her hair piled on her head in a bun, no makeup, and a brown T-shirt and pants. "I know I shouldn't even be looking at you right now, but I just had to see you before this afternoon! Remember that we have everything all set up, so just tell your guests to be there at about three-thirty and—"

"I know, Ino. Don't worry, I'll see you later today, all right?"

Ino nodded cheerfully. "Oh, you are going to love my dress, Sasuke-kun—"

Gently, the Uchiha put his finger to his bride-to-be's pink lips. "I'm sure you look beautiful in it. Now, if you don't mind, I have somewhere to be." he offered the tiniest of smiles, before walking away in his desired direction.

"Okay, bye Sasuke-kun! Love you!" called the younger noble.

As soon as Sasuke was sure Ino was out of earshot, he sighed. Honestly, he was starting to feel terrible about what was he going to do. Ino seemed to really like Sasuke, and loving him was certainly possible. However, Sasuke didn't harbor those kinds of feelings for her. Not to mention the fact that she actually went through the trouble of planning out an entire wedding in less time than Sasuke thought possible. She had been so nice and so gracious about this, while Sasuke had been sullen and rude.

The thought that maybe he didn't even deserve someone so kind and genuine like Ino occurred to Sasuke. In fact, Ino probably thought herself the lucky one, to be marrying a prince, and an Uchiha prince at that. Was she though? Or was he?

Sasuke nearly crashed into a tree before coming to his senses. He pinched the bridge of his nose, before remembereing the small bag of invitations he toted in his hand. There were exactly 20 of them, the first one being delivered to none other than Lords Hiashi and Hizashi Hyuuga.

The raven had just passed the sign that said _Hyuuga Ichizoku, _welcoming any outsiders into the Hyuuga compound. Many houses lined the small street on either side, decorated with small flags bearing the clan symbol and painted a pearly white or gray. Sasuke stopped in front of the largest one, the Main House. There resided Lord Hiashi, the clan leader.

He knocked, and a meek figure answered the door. Hinata Hyuuga was dressed in a lavender kimono, traditional wear for the clan. Her dark hair was left loose, thick bangs slightly obscuring her eyes.

"H-hello, Uchiha-sama." that was Hinata for you, always using the politest of terms for anyone, even her lessers. Not once in his entire life had Sasuke heard her say an unkind word nor use an unfriendly tone.

The teen couldn't help but smirk. How in the hell a guy like Naruto managed to catch Hinata's eye was beyond him, but Sasuke couldn't help but feel a little sorry for the Hyuuga. Not just anyone could tolerate the blonde's absolute ridiculousness.

He handed Hinata the white envelope, _Hyuuga _written neatly on the front. "Here. Make sure to tell your father, and Neji. If you see dobe later, tell him he's not getting one since he'll probably be your plus one."

At that last bit, Hinata reddened. She nodded, giving Sasuke a half smile and congratulating him on his marriage. He wasn't sure how she knew, but the raven just assumed Naruto had told her.

* * *

"Hello?" Shikamaru Nara opened the door, peeved at whoever caused him to get out of bed so early in the afternoon.

Sasuke shoved the envelope at him. "Here. Come."

The brunette nodded, and swung the door closed.

* * *

"Oh, what the hell?"

"Shut up, Inuzuka. Take this invitation, show your mom and sister, and make sure you comb your damn hair."

"Nice to see you too, dick."

* * *

"—my apologies Akimichi-san, as much as I would love to have some pork with you, I really need to get going. I will see you at the wedding later, say goodbye to Chouji for me."

"Are you sure, Sasuke dear?"

"Positive."

"Well tell your mother I said hi!"

Two hours, seven hugs, a kiss, and fourteen good wishes to various family members later, Sasuke was finished. Now if only he had more than an hour to get ready for his own wedding.

* * *

"Someone do something about his fucking hair!"

"I'm trying, dammit!"

"Why on this good earth would you pick something like that to wear today, otouto?"

"Where are his shoes!"

"Where's his mom! Why isn't she doing this!"

"Father! Where are you?!"

"Oh shit! I forgot about Hinata! What if Neji wants to kill me for leaving her!"

"Go! Me and Itachi'll handle this!"

"Mother!"

"...Can I just cry."

At this stage in his life, Sasuke really wanted to punch each and every one of his family members in the dick. Twice. Much like on his first date, Itachi and Shisui (Naruto had left) were swarming around him, fussing over every little detail about his face, clothing, and hair.

Once again, they had cleared Sasuke's bangs from his face, making him seem almost younger than his eighteen years (although he was sure that by the time this was over, he'd have gray hairs). His black shirt, which was slightly high-collared, was in place, along with his dark blue jacket. The white pants had been bleached, and his shoes polished.

Quickly, the older Uchihas ushered Sasuke out of his room and down to the ballroom. Hundreds of people were sitting in pews, turning thier heads swiftly towards Sasuke the moment he stepped in.

"There he is!"

"So young, no?"

"Oh! I wish he'd picked me to be his wife!"

Sasuke did his best not to roll his eyes. Chatter was so annoying, especially when it was about him. This was why he didn't like going out in public.

The young prince took his position at the front of the room, next to an altar decorated with a large amount of white lillies, roses, and marigolds. A vibrant red cloth was draped across the top, bearing the symbol of the Uchiha clan. A red runner went down the entire room, between the sections of pews, leading up to the large doors where Ino would be entering.

It seemed as though it had only been a second when everybody gasped.

* * *

Sakura felt like her lungs were going to burst. The Uchiha palace was set a little ways outside Konoha, but still an hour's trip by cart.

_"Why did you kiss me, Sai?"_

_The teen averted Sakura's gaze. "I...I love you, Sakura. I have loved you ever since you became my first friend, bringing me gifts and food."_

_Sakura was left speechless. She knew that her and Sai had a strong relationship, but certainly not a romantic one. Not in her mind, anyways._

_"Sai, I appreciate it. I really do. The thing is, I don't feel the same way. I am so sorry, but I can't love you the way you love me." she said pinkette took Sai's hand in hers._

_"Sakura..."_

_"I really am sorry, but..._

_"I'm in love with Sasuke."_

When Sai told her the wedding was happening today, in less than an hour, she made a break for it. She had to tell Sasuke the truth, that was not her fault, the she _loved him_.

This wedding had to stop.

She reached the palace boundaries, her legs cramping and shaking violently with fatigue. Thankfully, the guards were distracted enough that Sakura could easily climb over the wall without being seen.

Ino looked absolutely beautiful, even to Sasuke. Her dress was tank-strapped, a baby pink ribbon tied around the empire waist. The skirt fell loosely around her legs, gently caressing the floor with each step. Ino's hair was pulled into a neat bun, any loose tendrils curled around her face and neck. A baby pink lily adorned the bun, its petals curved perfectly.

She gracefully walked down the aisle, looking absolutely ecstatic next to her also proud father. Even at the slow, constant pace, Ino seemed to have reached Sasuke in only seconds.

"Are you ready?" she whispered, offering him a bright smile. She discreetly took his hand, giving it a gentle squeeze.

Sasuke nodded curtly, feeling the warmness in Ino's hand compared to his cold one.

The priest began to talk, going about the usual speech of sickness and health, and whatever other conditions under which you should love your spouse.

"Do you, Ino Yamanaka, take Sasuke Uchiha to be your loyally wedded husband?"

The blonde smiled. "I do."

"And do you, Sasuke Uchiha, take Ino Yamanaka to be your loyally wedded wife?"

"I**—**"

The doors burst open.

"Sasuke, please! Don't**—**don't do this! I'm sorry!" cried a frantic Sakura, racing down the aisle. A snag in the runner caught her small foot, and she slid forward, only to be caught by two large guards, grabbing hold of her arms. Long pink hair cascaded in front of her face, red from panting, and hot tears rolled off her cheeks onto the ground.

Sakura knew she was defeated, as she made no attempt to escape the iron grip of the guards. She sat there crying, then let a sad smile pull at her lips and raised expectant eyes at the prince before her.

* * *

notes**—Dude. I'm sorry about the terrible wedding description, but I've never really been to any, or at least any I've paid attention to XD If I missed something, you should tell me in a review :) Or even better, review telling how much you loved it!**

**Thank you so much for your reviews, faves, and follows up to this point! Love you guys, have a merry Christmas, Hannukah, Kwanzaa and any other holidays!**


	15. The Happpily Ever After

**The Perfect Princess**

summary—**"Sasuke, you have seven days to find a bride, or you lose the crown." Well, this was gonna be a royal pain in the ass. SASUSAKU. AU.**

disclaimer—**Last time I checked, I was not an Asian man.**

first version; **unedited.**

**.**

notes—**Drinking my life away in Mucho Mango :D**

* * *

**The Perfect Princess**

_**Chapter 15**_

* * *

"Sakura..."

Sasuke was speechless. Clearly, someone somewhere did not want him to have a nice, peaceful, uneventful existence. He glanced at Ino, still holding her hands, then back at Sakura.

The pinkette tried to stand up, and was forced back onto her knees by the guards. She tried to pull her arm away, but their grip proved once more too strong.

With all his heart, Sasuke wanted to demand they let her go. He wanted to walk up to them, and rip her away from their hands himself. Those guards were extremely strong, their hands wrapped tightly around her thin wrists. He was afraid that if they handled Sakura any more roughly, she would get hurt. But, for some reason, he didn't. He didn't demand they let her go. Her didn't walk up to them, and rip her form their hands himself.

Sasuke had much difficulty avoiding Ino's eyes. He used all of his willpower to prevent his dark eyes from meeting Ino's baby blue ones, but failed. Ino looked shocked, her orbs shiny. She gripped Sasuke's hands very tightly, then went limp.

The blonde turned to Sakura and the guards. "Let her go," she whispered. "Now."

"But, your Highness—" sputtered the bigger of the two, looking at Sasuke with wide eyes.

"Let her go." Sasuke told them firmly. Both men let go of Sakura, dropping her on the red runner. The pinkette shakily stood up, rubbing at the spots where they'd manhandled her. Her arms were red, fingerprints clearly indented.

She wiped her face of tears and dirt. Her hair was finger-combed away from her eyes, and she looked at Sasuke pleadingly.

"Please, Sasuke. Please just...listen.

"I did not kiss Sai. He kissed me, because he has feelings for me. I can't return his feelings, Sasuke, because they are reserved for someone else. I know...I know we haven't known each other for very long at all, but I can't help but get this feeling in my gut that says you and I should be together. Whenever I see you, my heart does a one-eighty, my stomach churns, and I smile until my face hurts. I just thought I was getting sick or something, but...

"I love you, Sasuke."

Sasuke's eyes widened. He dropped Ino's hands, and didn't know how he could possibly reply. Perhaps he felt something similar for the pinkette in front of him, but he couldn't act on it—what about Ino?

And—and the kiss. Sasuke was completely wrong about that; Sakura wasn't playing with his emotions, betraying him—she was the victim. He knew Sai was someone to be wary about! God, he felt like just banging his head against a wall for being such an _asshole. _Really, it was his own fault for not listening, for letting his emotions get the best of him.

He couldn't though, he couldn't say he loved Sakura back. Sasuke wouldn't admit it, but he didn't actually hate Ino as much as he claimed. She really was an okay person, and was maybe someone Sasuke could consider a friend. He didn't want to hurt her, to make her feel the same Sasuke had earlier this week. If he did, the feeling would surely be much worse, since it wasn't one-sided.

"Sakura..." Sasuke said again. "I don't—"

_SLAP!_

_**Really? **_

The Uchiha touched his cheek where Ino's hand had made contact. She looked upset, but not angry—more like disappointed. The blonde lowered her arm, her blue eyes locking straight into Sasuke's black ones.

"You're an idiot, Sasuke. Girls are mean, spiteful, _stubborn_, and when they have something against you, they'll do anything to hurt you. Someone who's genuine and nice and _honest _is hard to find, but here you have sa girl who has practically crawled back to you, because she doesn't want you to leave with a bad taste about her in your mouth. She has asked you for an apology and a confession and you want to say _no_?" Ino shook her head, like she couldn't even believe it.

"Seriously, if you are going to become King, you need to read people better, or else you'd know that I'm not as shallow as I seem. I can see that she loves you, a lot. I know for a fact that you can see it, and by the way you look at her, the feeling's mutual. Don't do this to yourself, to us. I want to be in a loveless marriage about as much as you do, so _go._ I can find another guy.

"Well? Don't leave your future wife just standing there! Kiss her!" the no-longer-bride-to-be shoved Sasuke into Sakura, making sure their lips connected.

It was amazing. Chills ran down Sasuke's spine, and he wrapped his arms around Sakura's waist to pull her closer. He felt her hands tangle in his hair, pushing his head closer as well. They pulled apart for air, blushing and panting to the cheers of people who had witnessed everything.

Sasuke hugged Sakura, and whispered in her ear, "I don't actually want to get married. You?"

"Well..." the pinkette kissed his cheek. "Maybe we _should _wait a while, you know?" she said.

_**CHA! I can't believe you're actually considering this! This is outrageous**_—

_Quit whining, you love it._

"I agree." Sasuke replied.

"But...what about the kingdom? You can't be king if you don't get married, right?"

The Uchiha had a rare smile appear on his face, as he turned to the very front row of people, where Shisui sat with his girlfriend, Suzume. Her toffee-colored hair was wavy as usual, and she wore a deep purple dress. She was smiling, giving Sasuke the thumbs-up sign when she saw him looking at her.

Sasuke motioned for Shisui to come over. Suzume nudged him, and the curly haired raven looked alert. He asked what was wrong, and the brunette gestured to Sasuke, who waved his hand.

"What?" asked the older Uchiha. He looked annoyed, like this thing couldn't go on any longer.

"Listen..." Sasuke pulled him a little closer, whispering something to him. Instantly, a huge smile spread on Shisui's face, and he nodded eagerly. He went back to where Suzume was sitting, and Sasuke faced the crowd of people.

"Excuse me! I have an announcement!"

The room was quiet, and everyone's face turned towards the young prince.

"I am not getting married!"

Gasps were heard from various points in the group.

"But then who's going to be King?"

"I heard Itachi also turned it down!"

"If they both aren't doing it, then old Madara's taking their place!"

Their chatter continued for several mintes, annoying Sasuke. He rolled his eyes, and cleared his throat multiple times. without any success. Couldn't he have just one moment in his life where something went _as planned_?

"HEY!" Naruto had stepped up next to the raven teen, cupping his hands around his mouth and yelling as loudly as he could.

This idiot. "Thanks." mumbled Sasuke.

"No problem, teme! You know I got your back!" Naruto chuckled, punching his friend in the shoulder. Sasuke replied by punching him in the face.

"LIke I said, I'm not getting married, and I'm not gonna become King of Konoha." the Uchiha announced to the crowd. "But, I am handing it over to someone else!"

At that precise moment, Sasuke pulled a small, white-gold ring from his pocket, handing it over to Shisui. The older raven took it, still smiling widely. He admired the ring, set with a lone diamond, accompanied on either side by tiny green emeralds. It was so simple, yet exquisitely beautiful.

Shisui held the ring in one hand, and knelt down on his right knee, much to the awe of Suzume and everyone watching.

"About a week ago, Sasuke asked me what's the quickest I've ever fallen in love. I looked at him, and said with all honesty, "half an hour". I still can't believe it's taken me two years—"

Suzume, who had begun to cry, sniffed. "Actually, it's been three." she laughed.

"Three years, and I haven't proposed. Well, I can't wait any longer.

"Suzume Hara, will you do me the biggest favor of my life and become my queen?"

"Y-Your queen?" Suzume wiped her eyes, looking a little confused.

Shisui nodded. "Sasuke told me he was giving me the kingdom." the Uchiha stood up, slipping the ring onto his fiance's finger and pulling her close. "We can think of it as our wedding present."

The brunette smiled. She threw her arms around Shisui's neck, nuzzling into it. "You're such a show-off, Shisui-kun!"

The people who had thought they were attending one wedding but seemed to be part of another cheered. They rushed over to both couples, barraging them with questions and good wishes and small gifts.

"Sasuke!"

The teen turned towards the voice, still holding Sakura. He saw his parents walking towards the both of them, both (surprisingly) smiling. Mikoto stretched her arms out, pulling Sasuke into a hug.

"I'm so happy for you!" she squeezed her son tightly. The former queen let go, then noticed her husband's indifferent behavior a few feet away. "Fugaku!" chided the woman, administering a quick slap to the back of his head.

He shrunk away, looking back at Mikoto incredulously. Fugaku gave a "Hn", and walked up to his son.

"Sasuke." he said. "You have made an incredibly...wise decision. I realize that we put you in a difficult place, but you have somehow made it work out, not only to your advantage—but to advantage of others. I am very proud to call you my son."

And then, he hugged him. For the first time Sasuke ever remembered, his father hugged him. It wasn't just any other hug, either. This was a real one, an embrace with more _meaning _than anyone could ever realize. Without hesitation, the teen wrapped his arms around his father's back, and stayed there for a few seconds.

"As for your girl," the (no-longer) king continued. "You did a good job." he offered Sakura a rare smile, putting his hand on her shoulder. "She is a very beautiful young lady, with good character."

He leaned into Sakura's ear. "Keep him in check, won't you?"

The green eyed girl grinned widely. "Of course."

Naruto stumbled over to the Uchihas (plus Sakura), Hinata right behind him. His face was a little red where Sasuke'd punched him, but looked fine nontheless. Hinata was in a yellow dress, her cheeks lightly dusted with the usual blush.

The blonde punched Sasuke in the arm again, making sure he prepared himself for any retaliation. When there was none, he smiled, then laughed.

"I still don't know how you got a girl like Sakura-chan, teme, but whatever! Just make sure to invite me to your _real _wedding!"

"I-I think that was very noble o-of you, Sasuke-san. I hope you a-and S-Sakura-san are happy together." added the shy blunette.

"Yeah, whatever, dobe." said Sasuke.

And he and Sakura kissed again.

* * *

notes—**THIS WAS SO RIDICULOUS. YOU GUYS. I PROMISE THOUGH, IT'S STILL NOT OVER :D**

**Thank you guys for reading, have a Happy New Year, and please review!**


	16. EPILOGUE: DAY 365

**The Perfect Princess**

summary—**"Sasuke, you have seven days to find a bride, or you lose the crown." Well, this was gonna be a royal pain in the ass. SASUSAKU. AU.**

disclaimer—**HAHA NO.**

first version; **unedited.**

**.**

notes—**113 REVIEWS. 68 FAVORITES. 71 FOLLOWS.**

* * *

**The Perfect Princess**

_**Epilogue**_

* * *

_Day Three Hundred Sixty-Five_—

* * *

Good thing Itachi had a camera, or else this wouldn't have worked the way Sasuke had hoped. Every detail of this plan had to be perfect, because it was a year in the making, and he was not going to mess up again.

It started one year ago.

Sasuke'd woken up feeling like it was a normal day, only to find out he was given a mere week to find his wife and become the king of Konoha. His idiot cousin and brother had devised a plan to 'audition' a large group of girls, hoping to find the one that would catch the young teen's fancy. It was a total bust, and the only one that Sasuke really paid any attention to was some random girl with green eyes.

Later that day, the very same idiot cousin and brother took him to a bathhouse, where Sasuke reunited with a friend he hadn't seen in about three years, and in his attempt to catch up, completely flattened a girl who worked there, with rather familiar green eyes. The prince had tried to keep his cool, shaking off the incident and going to some restaurant with his idiot friend, cousin, and brother. There, he somehow managed to once again run into the girl, and knock down an international ambassador.

Then he got sick, which wasn't that bad, and the second he felt better the little Peanut Gallery went to a carnival. They ate, puked, played, laughed, spent money, and went to an acrobat show. Some girl sat next to him, recognized him, made a scene, and Sasuke essentially not only ruined her life, but also that of some other girl's onstage.

He asked her on a date, where things clicked. He kissed her, and felt an immediate connection. Sasuke had such a good feeling about this that he proposed the next day. She said yes.

On an escapade to buy a proper ring for this beautiful, green-eyed, pink-haired button of a girl, he saw her kissing, er, being kissed by someone else. It hurt him, yeah, but he didn't stick around to listen to the whole story, instead going up to the only other girl he could think of, and proposed to her instead.

The second before he was going to marry aforementioned girl, his little pinkette in a dirty dress (no shining armor available) showed up, confessing everything that happened and resulting in the complete shift of the entire wedding. Sasuke and Sakura didn't get married though, as they opted to wait a while and see what would happen.

Things were going good so far. They hardly fought and spent nearly every waking moment together. To some people it would seem like things were _too _good, but most saw that it was pure, unalduterated chemistry.

So, fifty-two weeks later Sasuke decided he was going to propose again. It had taken a careful amount of planning, eight rolls of film and the majority of his time. Now all he needed was the perfect execution.

* * *

Sasuke knocked on her door.

"Are you ready?" he asked when the pinkette opened it. She nodded, tying the last knot in her white ribbon headband.

Today, in Sasuke's opinion, Sakura looked even more stunning than usual. Her hair was left in soft, natural waves, held back by the satin headband in her hair. She was wearing a Peter Pan-collared button-up shirt the exact shade of her candy-tinted locks, and had it tucked neatly into her high-waisted white shorts.

Sakura held Sasuke's hand gently. The couple walked down the downtown area, surrounded by bustling civilians and merchants.

"Where do you want to go?"

The pinkette considered an answer. "Let's go to the park," she said, holding Sasuke's hand tighter. "It's so nice today."

Sasuke agreed silently. He led her to Senju Park, named after the family of the original founder of Konoha. It was vast and open, a few large trees offering thick shade from the August heat. Some wodden posts marked with bulls-eyes stood off to the side, peppered with holes from various weapons that Sasuke's ninjas used. They were the ultimate form of protection, only to be used with high-profile, high-risk missions.

From the corner of his eye, Sasuke spotted three familiar-looking forms lurking up in a nearby tree, holding various pictures and a few rolls of string in their hands. In order to prevent Sakura from seeing them, he directed her away to a swingset, helping her into one of the seats, although she didn't need it.

Sakura's small hands gripped the chains tightly as she swung her legs forward, propelling the swing farther and farther into the air. She threw off her dark blue sandals, continuing to elevate herself even higher. Beside her, Sasuke's swing also rose farther up with each seesaw motion. The two laughed, trying to see who could go higher. When they slowly began to descend to the ground, Sasuke flipped his swing, landing feet-first with a solid sound on the dirt.

A high, bubbly laugh escaped from Sakura's lips, as she dug her bare heels into the soft earth, stopping her and the swing.

"Sasuke-kun, it's kind of hot today." sighed the pinkette. She wiped a drop of sweat from her brow, then ran a hand through her bangs.

Taking her hand, Sasuke helped his girlfriend off the swing. Hand in hand, the couple strode over to a wooden bench, placed conveniently under a large tree. Too distracted by the calling of cool, relieving shade, Sakura failed to notice the multitudes of pictures strung from branches.

Both young adults sat on the bench, Sakura laying her head in the crook of Sasuke's shoulder, where it seemed to fit perfectly. His hands rested in her lap, fingers interlaced.

As Sakura's apple-green eyes fluttered closed in relaxation, the raven glanced up into the canopy of the tree, where Naruto, Itachi, and Shisui still hid, sitting rather comfortably among the thick branches near the top of the tree. They had been the ones to hang pictures all around the wood, carefully punching holes in the top—making sure they didn't interfere with the actual image—and threading the string through them.

Sasuke reached his arm up, plucking the photograph closest to his head off. He studied it, admiring the memory it contained. He gently nudged Sakura in the side. "Sakura."

"Mm?" moaned the rosette, turning her gaze up to the Uchiha. "What is it, Sasuke-kun?"

He showed her the picture. "Do you know where this came from?"

Sakura rubbed the sleep from her eyes, dark blonde lashes fluttering. At the sight of the photo in Sasuke's hand, she gasped. The picure was taken from his hand, Sakura staring at it in suprise.

"Sasuke-kun? How—how did you get this picture?" her vision finally cleared, and she saw the pictures hanging in the tree. "Sasuke-kun!"

The raven smirked, wrapping his arm around Sakura's waist. The pinkette's eyes began to tear up, and she threw her arms around his neck. Sasuke lifted her off the bench, somehow managing to get the nineteen year old on his shoulders. He backed away from the tree, offering a better view of the display.

Littered among the leaves and branches were pictures of Sasuke and Sakura. They ranged from kisses at the palace to Sakura playing tricks on Sasuke to the entire Uchiha group together, Sakura, Sasuke and Naruto in the center. On the lowest-hanging branches was a series of pictures, not necessarily images of the couple, but composed of words. The one farthest left was of a piece of white paper, the words 'you mean' written in black. Next to it, shards of seaglass in blue and green spelled out 'the world', and alongside it was an image of Itachi and Shisui holding two signs, one with the letter 't' and the other printed with the letter 'o'.

The one next to it was an image of Sasuke and Sakura on that same park bench, both succumbing to quiet sleep induced by spring air. 'Me' was written on the top of it, a heart encircling both of them. On the far right was the final image, of Sasuke wearing a white shirt emblazoned with 'will you marry me?" on the front. He was on bended knee, holding in his hand what appeared to be a ring.

All Sakura could do was stare in awe. She got off of Sasuke, walking closer to the spectcular bravura. Those images, amid the others, were so _thoughtful,_ so beautiful it made her want to sob. She turned around, about to ask Sasuke just what was going on, when—

She saw him holding a ring.

"You shouldn't have." Sakura breathed, taking the ring into her hands.

Sasuke smirked. "I wanted to." he said. "Do you have an answer?"

The pinkette nodded, bouncing back to the tree and picking off the picture she'd had her eyes on. Proudly, Sakura presented it to Sasuke, and he smiled at the picture's content.

_Yes._

* * *

**The Perfect Princess**

_**The End**_

* * *

notes—**THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU. YOU ARE ALL SO AMAZING AND LOVELY AND NICE AND I APPRECIATE EACH AND EVERY ONE OF THOSE 113 REVIEWS YOU'VE LEFT ME. IT'S SAD THAT THIS STORY HAS TO END, BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN THERE WON'T BE MORE STORIES TO COME. **

**Btw, ima prolly take a week off, to let you guys vote on my poll and see what story you all would like me to publish next. The results are pretty decisive so far, but that don't mean there isn't time ^-^ **

**Bye you guys, I love each and every one of you! Thank you so much for reading this story, I hoe you all continue to read my works!**

**~IHTS (kristy)**


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